Alexandre v. Verizon N.Y.

2025 NY Slip Op 30976(U)
CourtNew York Supreme Court, New York County
DecidedMarch 26, 2025
DocketIndex No. 150773/2024
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2025 NY Slip Op 30976(U) (Alexandre v. Verizon N.Y.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court, New York County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alexandre v. Verizon N.Y., 2025 NY Slip Op 30976(U) (N.Y. Super. Ct. 2025).

Opinion

Alexandre v Verizon N.Y. 2025 NY Slip Op 30976(U) March 26, 2025 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 150773/2024 Judge: Emily Morales-Minerva Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 150773/2024 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 15 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 03/28/2025

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. EMILY MORALES-MINERVA PART 42M Justice ---------------------------------------- - ---- ------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 150773/2024 Alexandre, Gerda MOTION DATE 05/02/2024 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 001 - V-

Verizon New York Inc. et al DECISION+ ORDER ON MOTION Defendant -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----X

The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS

APPEARANCES:

The Stephens Law Firm PLLC, New York, New York (Glendoval James Stephens Esq., of counsel) for plaintiff.

Jackson Lewis LLP, New York, New York (Peter C. Moskowitz, Esq., of counsel) for defendants.

HON. EMILY MORALES-MINERVA:

In this action for gender discrimination and retaliation,

defendant VERIZON NEW YORK, INC., employer of plaintiff GERDA

ALEXANDRE moves, by notice of motion (seq. no. 001), pursuant to

CPLR § 3211 (a) (5) and (7) , 1 for an order dismissing the

complaint. Plaintiff appears and opposes the motion.

1 CPLR § 3211 (a) provides, as pertinent here, "A party may move for judgment dismissing one or more causes of action asserted against him on the ground that: "(5) the cause of action may not be maintained because of arbitration and award, collateral estoppel, discharge in bankruptcy, infancy or other disability of the moving party, payment, release, res judicata, statute of limitations, or statute of frauds; or

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For the reasons set forth below, defendant's motion (seq.

no. 001) is denied entirely.

BACKGROUND

Since 1988, plaintiff GERDA ALEXANDRE (employee) has served

as an employee of defendant VERIZON NEW YORK, INC. (Verizon)

(see New York State Court Electronic Filing System [NYSCEF] Doc.

No. 001, Complaint). Her work titles have included Customer

Service Representative and, most recently, Telecommunication

Technician Associate (id.). After at or around 31 years of her

employment, in September 2019, Verizon assigned Manual Da Costa

(Verizon Supervisor) as employee's supervisor (see id.).

Employee alleges that, within a month of working under his

supervision, she observed Verizon Supervisor "watch[ing] a

woman's backside intenselyn - - id. at (see -- 1 14). At that time,

employee contends that Verizon Supervisor smiled and winked at

employee, saying '" Nice butt"' (id.) . Employee states that,

thereafter, Verizon Supervisor made "inappropriate comments"

about employee's body (id. at 1 15). Employee specifies that, "[w]henever [she] went to [Verizon

Supervisor's] office for personal protective equipment," he

"(7) the pleading fails to state a cause of action."

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opined on, among other things, "how well she [employee] dressed,

or how well she [employee] smelled" (see id. at~ 16).

According to employee's complaint -- at least two to three

times weekly -- Verizon Supervisor engaged in this type of

behavior toward her. During these times, Verizon Supervisor

allegedly (1) complained to employee that she did not like him,

(2) licked his lips and winked at her, and (3) stated to

employee "'I love your smell'" and that employee was "'sexy'"

(see id. at 1 16 -19). Employee states that, at or around 2020, she reported these

incidents to her union representative, non-party Bernard Burgess

and to her colleague, non-party Paul Townsley (see id. a t , 20).

Further, employee states that, in the summer of 2020, she "told

Da Costa [Verizon Supervisor] that she was not comfortable with 11

his personal comments (id. at~ 21).

However, according to employee, by Fall 2020, Verizon

Supervisor increased the visits to her workstation to almost

daily visits; employee states that, on each of those visits,

Verizon Supervisor made similar comments to those described

above (see id. at 1 22). According to employee, Verizon

Supervisor did not make the same number of visits to her

colleague Townsley (see (id. at~ 21).

The complaint further sets forth that, in October of 2020,

Verizon Supervisor asked employee: "'Are you with your

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husband?'" (see _~9- at~ 24). Employee contends that she

answered in the affirmative, and Verizon Supervisor stated:

"I'd like to take you out. Would you go out with me?" (see id.

at~ 24). According to employee, she immediately declined

Verizon Supervisor's request, saying to him that it was "'not

work-related'" and asking "'why are you asking me stuff like

this?"' (id. at ~ 24).

After this exchange, employee alleges that Verizon

Supervisor stopped commenting on her appearance and began

criticizing her productivity (see id. at~ 25-27). Employee

alleges that Verizon Supervisor also stopped granting her

requests for vacation days and started to require her to make

formal requests for time off (see id. at~ 25-27).

Further, employee also alleges that, after declining his

advance, Verizon Supervisor denied her overtime pay, despite

approving overtime pay for her colleague Paul Townsley (see id.

at~ 33-34). According to employee, this constituted disparate

treatment as she worked the same shift, on the same date, and at

the same time as Paul Townsley (id.).

Consequently, on or around January 2021, employee "filed a

grievance" with Verizon complaining about Verizon Supervisor

(see id. at~ 35). Employee contends that she also "sent two

e-mails concerning the unpaid hours to Da Costa [Verizon

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Supervisor], Da Costa's supervisor [non-party] Betty Diaz, and

Diaz's supervisor [non-party] Carmel Bermudez" (id. ~ 38).

Thereafter, Verizon Supervisor scheduled a meeting between

himself, employee, her chief union steward [non-party] Joey

Marks and another supervisor, which took place on January 26,

2021 (see id. at~ 38}. Employee alleges that, during said

meeting, Verizon Supervisor asked questions that she could not

answer simply, despite his instruction that she answer them with

either a "yes or no" (id. at ~ 4 O) . According to employee,

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Related

Alexandre v. Verizon N.Y. Inc.
2025 NY Slip Op 30976(U) (New York Supreme Court, New York County, 2025)

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Bluebook (online)
2025 NY Slip Op 30976(U), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alexandre-v-verizon-ny-nysupctnewyork-2025.