Epstein Becker Green attorneys recently helped a major retail client achieve a victory in a disability discrimination lawsuit brought in New Jersey by one of the client’s former employees.
The case began in March 2018, when the plaintiff filed a pro se complaint in a New Jersey Superior Court. The plaintiff claimed that, upon returning from lower back surgery in December 2011, he was disabled and needed work restrictions, such as “no lifting, no pushing or carrying heavy stuff.” He also claimed that our client ignored these restrictions and assigned him to perform work that required lifting five-gallon cans of paint and heavy machinery. In addition, the plaintiff claimed that, because of our client’s conduct, he underwent surgery and other invasive procedures and will allegedly endure a lifetime of chronic pain and medication.
Epstein Becker Green, on behalf of our client, filed a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or, in the alternative, for a more definite statement.
In April 2019, the court granted our client’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint without prejudice. The court pointed out that that the complaint did not contain enough factual allegations about the underlying incidents for the court to find that the plaintiff stated a plausible claim for relief. But because the plaintiff was representing himself, the court gave him time to file an amended complaint. However, the plaintiff did not file an amended complaint by the court’s May deadline, so the court closed the case.
Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
