Summary
applying test to "plaintiff's claim for severance benefits"
Summary of this case from Baguer v. Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc.Opinion
October 6, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Leland DeGrasse, J.).
This Court has recently determined that the City has authority to create a private cause of action for unlawful discrimination with punitive damages as a remedy, and that the punitive damage provisions of Administrative Code of the City of New York § 8-502 are not inconsistent with the State Human Rights Law (Bracker v Cohen, 204 A.D.2d 115). The IAS Court properly sustained plaintiff's claim for severance benefits upon allegations that she continued in her employment with defendant corporation in reliance on its long-standing policy and history of offering such benefits (cf., Smith v. New York State Elec. Gas Corp., 155 A.D.2d 850).
However, contrary to the IAS Court's finding that the second cause of action for defamation is insufficient because it is not alleged that the allegedly defamatory statement was published to any third party, paragraph 38 of the verified complaint and plaintiff's affidavit in opposition allege that the statement was repeated in a March 2, 1993 letter given by defendant MacDonald to his secretary for transmission to plaintiff and others. It is well settled that dictation of a letter to a stenographer who then transcribed it, which letter was received by the plaintiff through the mails, states a cause of action for libel (Ostrowe v Lee, 256 N.Y. 36).
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Carro, Ellerin, Kupferman and Asch, JJ.