Judge Imposes Sanctions for Slow Responses in Impending Class Action
A federal judge has imposed fines on the city of New York after its attorneys failed to produce requested electronic documents in a class-action lawsuit initiated by a gay male couple, who had filed a wrongful discrimination lawsuit contending that the city’s health insurance paid for IVF (in-vitro fertilization) for straight and lesbian couples, but not for gay men. The plaintiffs, Nicholas Maggipinto and Corey Briskin, sought reimbursement of those costs from the city’s insurer, but were denied.
During discovery, the plaintiffs’ attorneys requested production of a wide range of documents related to the insurer’s prior practices. According to the court, the city went months without producing anything at all. Because of their failure to comply with the request for production, the court issued an order compelling the city to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees and reasonable costs.
New York Law Mandates Coverage
Under New York state insurance laws, employers with 100 or more employees must cover up to three completed cycles of IVF. Furthermore, insurance plans may not discriminate based on age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or gender identity.
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