Spiegel v. Schulmann

06-5914-cv
Spiegel v. Schulmann

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
_____________________

August Term, 2007
(Argued: May 7, 2008 Decided: May 6, 2010)
Docket No. 06-5914-cv

_____________________

ELLIOT SPIEGEL, JONATHAN SCHATZBERG,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,

-v.-

DANIEL (ATIGER@) SCHULMANN, UAK MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC.,
Defendants-Appellees.
_______________________

BEFORE: HALL and LIVINGSTON, Circuit Judges. *

For Plaintiffs-Appellants: E RIC J. G RANNIS, Law Offices of
Eric J. Grannis, New York, New
York.

For Defendants-Appellees: S COTT L EVENSON, Elmwood Park, New
Jersey.

Appeal from a judgment by the United States District

Court for the Eastern District of New York (Townes, J.)

*
Judge Louis F. Oberdorfer of the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia, originally a member of the
panel sitting by designation, recused himself after oral
argument. The two remaining members of the panel, who are in
agreement, have decided this case in accordance with Second
Circuit Internal Operating Procedure E(b).
granting the Defendants-Appellees’ motion for summary

judgment. Because we hold that the district court properly

concluded that there is no individual liability for

retaliation claims brought under the Americans with

Disabilities Act (“ADA”), we affirm the court’s granting of

the motion for summary judgment with respect to the ADA

retaliation claims against Defendant-Appellee Daniel

(“Tiger”) Schulmann. Further, we also hold that the court

correctly determined that the Plaintiffs failed to state a

claim under the New York State Human Rights Law. However, we

vacate and remand with respect to the Plaintiffs’ claim

under the New York City Human Rights Law. We find the

Plaintiffs’ remaining bases for appeal to be without merit.

Accordingly, we affirm in part and vacate in part the

judgment of the district court, and remand.

PER CURIAM:

Elliot Spiegel and Jonathan Schatzberg (collectively,

“Plaintiffs”) appeal from the November 30, 2006, judgment of

the district court awarding summary judgment to Defendants-

Appellees Daniel “Tiger” Schulmann and UAK Management

2
Company, Inc. (“UAK”) (collectively, “Defendants”), and

dismissing, inter alia, Plaintiffs’ claims that Schulmann

violated the anti-retaliation provision of the Americans

with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. ' 12101, et seq. (AADA@ or

Athe Act@), as well as the New York State Human Rights Law

(ANYSHRL@), N.Y. Exec. Law ' 296 et seq., and the New York

City Human Rights Law (ANYCHRL@), N.Y.C. Admin. Code ' 8-107,

when he directed their termination from positions as

instructors at Tiger Schulmann Karate Schools. We agree

with the district court’s determination that there was no

basis for individual liability with respect to the ADA

retaliation claims made under 42 U.S.C. ' 12203. We also

hold that the district court correctly decided that the

Plaintiffs failed to state a claim under the NYSHRL.

However, with respect to the NYCHRL, we vacate and remand so

that the district court may consider in the first instance

whether obesity is a disability under the NYCHRL. We find

the Plaintiffs’ remaining bases for appeal to be without

merit. Accordingly, we affirm in part and vacate the

judgment of the district court, and remand.

3
I. Background

The parties do not dispute that in June 2002 Spiegel

was terminated from his position as an instructor at a Tiger

Schulmann Karate School located in Stamford, Connecticut.

In the fall of 2002, Spiegel notified Schulmann and UAK that

he intended to file an employment discrimination charge with

the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights & Opportunities

(ACCHRO@), alleging that he had been terminated on the basis

of his weight. Subsequently, in November 2002, Schatzberg,

who was known to be Spiegel=s friend and roommate, was

terminated from his position as an instructor at a Tiger

Schulmann Karate School in Rego Park, Queens. After the

Plaintiffs filed their original ADA complaint in the

district court, the corporation that operates the Stamford

karate school filed a lawsuit against Spiegel in Connecticut

state court, alleging that he had attempted to interfere

with the Stamford school=s contract with one of its

employees. In their second amended complaint in this case,

the Plaintiffs alleged, inter alia, that Schulmann had

retaliated against them in violation of the anti-retaliation

provision of the ADA by terminating Schatzberg from the Rego

4
Park Center and by filing the state court lawsuit against

Spiegel, and that Schulmann had violated the NYSHRL and

NYCHRL by terminating Spiegel on the basis of his weight.

The Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment,

which the district court granted in its entirety. It found

that it had no personal jurisdiction over UAK because the

company did not do business in New York, nor did the claims

in this action arise from any transactions conducted in New

York. With respect to Schulmann, the court concluded that

the ADA retaliation claims could not be sustained because

Plaintiffs had offered no theory upon which Schulmann, an

individual who was not the Defendants’ employer, could be

held liable for a claim of ADA retaliation. The Plaintiffs

had failed to demonstrate a genuine issue of material fact

with respect to the prima facie elements of their NYSHRL

discriminatory firing claim, the court found, and had failed

under the parallel NYCHRL claim to rebut as pretextual the

legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the firing

produced by the Defendants.

This appeal followed.

I. Personal Jurisdiction over UAK

5
 This Court reviews de novo a district court’s legal

conclusion regarding whether a party has demonstrated a

prima facie case of personal jurisdiction. See CutCo

Indus., Inc. v. Naughton, 806 F.2d 361, 365 (2d Cir. 1986).

We hold that the district court lacked personal jurisdiction

over UAK.

A district court’s personal jurisdiction is determined

by the law of the state in which the court is located. See

Thomas v. Ashcroft, 470 F.3d 491, 495 (2d Cir. 2006). In

this case, the Plaintiffs argue that UAK was subject to the

district court’s personal jurisdiction under N.Y. C.P.L.R. §

302(a)(1). Section 302(a)(1), however, provides for

personal jurisdiction only with respect to causes of action

arising out of the transaction of business conducted in New

York. See, e.g., Bank Brussels Lambert v. Fiddler Gonzales

& Rodriguez, 171 F.3d 779, 787 (2d Cir. 1999) (noting that a

single transaction can satisfy the requirements of §

302(a)(1) “so long as the relevant cause of action also

arises from that transaction”) (citing George Reiner & Co.

v. Schwartz, 363 N.E.2d 551 (N.Y. 1977)). The Plaintiffs

allege that references to “headquarters” made by several

6
witnesses during depositions in this case demonstrate that

UAK was involved in the decisions to terminate the

Plaintiffs’ employment. Nothing in the record, however,

demonstrates that any witness used “headquarters” to refer

to “UAK” or intended to suggest that UAK was the

“headquarters” from which the directive to terminate the

Plaintiffs originated.

The Plaintiffs also argue that the record demonstrated

that UAK’s services to the New York karate centers included

personnel matters such that the terminations of the

Plaintiffs arose out of those services. Again, nothing in

the record demonstrates that, in the context of personnel

matters, UAK provided anything more than administrative

services and payroll processing to the New York karate

centers. Although the record contains evidence that Vincent

Gravina, a part-owner of the Rego Park Center, notified UAK

employees when he terminated Shatzberg’s employment, that

evidence also demonstrates that Gravina did so only to

effect Schatzberg’s removal from the payroll of the karate

center. The Plaintiffs have failed to offer any evidence

that their causes of action against UAK arise from UAK’s

7
transaction of business in New York State. Accordingly, we

affirm the district court’s judgment on this point. 1

II. State Law Invasion of Privacy Claim

We review a district court’s grant of summary judgment

de novo, “examining the evidence in the light most favorable

to, and drawing all inferences in favor of, the non-movant.”

Sheppard v. Beerman, 317 F.3d 351, 354 (2d Cir. 2003).

“Summary judgment is appropriate only if it can be

established that there is no genuine issue as to any

material fact and that the moving party is entitled to

judgment as a matter of law.” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P.

56(c)) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Under New York law, “a defendant’s immunity from a

claim for invasion of privacy is no broader than the consent

1
On appeal, the Plaintiffs argue that UAK was subject to
the district court’s personal jurisdiction because the company
had registered to do business in New York State. Although such
registration would have been sufficient to establish personal
jurisdiction, see Augsbury Corp. v. Petrokey Corp., 97 A.D.2d
173, 175-76 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep’t 1983), the Plaintiffs did
not raise this argument before the district court and, thus,
it is waived. See Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 120-21
(1976) (“It is the general rule, of course, that a federal
appellate court does not consider an issue not passed upon
below.”).

8
executed to him.” Dzurenko v. Jordache, Inc., 451 N.E.2d

477, 478 (N.Y. 1983) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Where the plaintiff’s consent is limited with respect to

form or forum, the use of the plaintiff’s photograph is

without consent if it exceeds the limitation. Id.

On appeal, the Plaintiffs rely on Russell v. Marboro

Books, 183 N.Y.S.2d 8 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1959), and Carlson v.

Hillman Periodicals, Inc., 163 N.Y.S.2d 21 (N.Y. App. Div.

1st Dep’t 1957), to support their argument that the use of

Spiegel’s altered photograph in the weight-loss

advertisement exceeded the scope of the consent he had

granted by signing the general release. In this case,

however, the release signed by Spiegel was both broader and

more clearly worded than the releases at issue in Russell

and Carlson. By signing the release, Spiegel agreed “for

all purposes, to the sale, reproduction and/or use in any

manner of any and all photographs, videos, films, audio, or

any depiction or portrayal of [himself] or [his] likeness

and/or voice whatsoever.” Although Spiegel might not have

anticipated that his image would be altered for use as a

“fat suit,” the release clearly allowed the defendants to

9
use his image “in any manner” and to use “any depiction or

portrayal” of Spiegel for “all purposes.” Given the lack of

ambiguity in the release, the district court did not err in

determining that there was no genuine issue of material fact

with respect to whether the Defendants’ use of Spiegel’s

image had invaded his privacy. We affirm the grant of

summary judgment on this claim.

III. Declining to Exercise Supplemental Jurisdiction

This Court reviews for abuse of discretion a district

court’s decision declining to exercise supplemental

jurisdiction. See N.Y. Mercantile Exch., Inc. v.

IntercontinentalExch., Inc., 497 F.3d 109, 113 (2d Cir.

2007). In order to decide Plaintiffs’ state and municipal

retaliation claims, the district court would have been

required to determine whether, under the applicable state

and municipal laws, an allegedly frivolous lawsuit filed in

another state’s court constituted a retaliatory act for

purposes of the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL. To decline to do so

clearly was not an abuse of discretion.

10
IV. Denial of Motion to Amend

We review for abuse of discretion a district court’s

decision denying a motion to amend. See Kassner v. 2nd Ave.

Delicatessen Inc., 496 F.3d 229, 242 (2d Cir. 2007). Where

the denial of leave to amend is based upon a legal

interpretation, however, this Court reviews it de novo.

Littlejohn v. Artuz, 271 F.3d 360, 362 (2d Cir. 2001) (per

curiam). The district court denied the Plaintiffs’ motion

to amend their complaint to add TSK Franchise Systems as a

defendant. It reasoned that, because it had already

determined the Plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate personal

jurisdiction over UAK, and because the proposed allegations

against TSK were identical to the allegations against UAK,

allowing such an amendment would be futile.

A review of the proposed third amended complaint and

the record demonstrates that the district court did not

abuse its discretion in denying the motion to amend. As

discussed above, the district court properly determined that

it lacked personal jurisdiction over UAK. Neither the

Plaintiffs’ third amended complaint nor the evidence adduced

during discovery provided any basis to demonstrate that the

11
district court would have had personal jurisdiction over

TSK. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order

denying the Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend their

complaint.

V. Denial of Motion to Enjoin the State Court Lawsuit

When a district court declines to issue an injunction,

we review for clear error the court’s factual conclusion

that an injunction is not necessary, and we review de novo

the court’s interpretation of the All Writs and Anti-

Injunction Acts. See Retirement Sys. of Ala. v. J.P. Morgan

Chase & Co., 386 F.3d 419, 425 (2d Cir. 2004). The Anti-

Injunction Act prohibits a district court from granting an

injunction staying a state court proceeding “except as

expressly authorized by Act of Congress, or where necessary

in aid of its jurisdiction, or to protect or effectuate its

judgments.” 28 U.S.C. § 2283; see Mitchum v. Foster, 407

U.S. 225, 236-37 (1972) (setting forth criteria for

determining whether a statute expressly authorizes a

district court to issue injunctions).

Without determining whether the Anti-Injunction Act

applies to requests for injunctions of state court

12
proceedings that are allegedly retaliatory under the ADA, we

conclude that the district court did not err in declining to

issue the injunction sought by the Plaintiffs. Although the

Plaintiffs argued that the state lawsuit was “patently

frivolous,” they offered no evidence to support that

conclusory statement. See, e.g., EEOC v. Levi Strauss &

Co., 515 F. Supp. 640, 644 (N.D. Ill. 1981) (noting that

“[i]n order to establish the propriety of an injunction, the

[party seeking to enjoin an allegedly retaliatory state

court lawsuit] must demonstrate that the action was filed

for improper, i.e. retaliatory, purposes”). Further, other

than general allegations regarding Schulmann’s control over

Stamford Karate, there is no evidence in the record that

Schulmann directed the filing of the lawsuit against

Spiegel. Accordingly, to the extent that the ADA might

“expressly authorize” the issuance of the type of injunction

sought by the Plaintiffs, the Plaintiffs offer no basis upon

which this Court can determine that the district court erred

in failing to do so. We affirm the court’s order declining

to enjoin proceedings in the Connecticut lawsuit.

13
VI. Individual Liability under the ADA Retaliation
Provision

42 U.S.C. § 12203(a) provides that “[n]o person shall

discriminate against any individual because such individual

has opposed any act or practice made unlawful by this

chapter or because such individual made a charge, testified,

assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation,

proceeding, or hearing under this chapter.” With respect to

retaliation claims in the context of employment

discrimination, § 12203(c) adopts, inter alia, “[t]he

remedies and procedures available under [42 U.S.C. §] 12117.

. ..” Section 12117 specifically makes applicable to

actions under the ADA the remedies available under 42 U.S.C.

§ 2000e-5. See 42 U.S.C. § 12117(a) (providing that “[t]he

powers, remedies, and procedures set forth in section[ ] . .

. 2000e-5 . . . of this title shall be the powers, remedies,

and procedures this subchapter provides to . . . any person

alleging discrimination on the basis of disability”).

This Court has not addressed the issue of whether '

12203 provides for individual liability. We have, however,

determined that the remedial provisions of Title VII,

14
including § 2000e-5, do not provide for individual

liability. See Tomka v. Seiler Corp., 66 F.3d 1295, 1313-14

(2d Cir. 1995), abrogated on other grounds by Burlington

Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998) and Faragher v.

City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998). Accordingly, it

follows that, in the context of employment discrimination,

the retaliation provision of the ADA, which explicitly

borrows the remedies set forth in § 2000e-5, cannot provide

for individual liability.

This conclusion is arguably contrary to a literal

reading of § 12203(a), where the phrase “[n]o person shall”

suggests the possibility of individual liability. Because

we apply the remedies provided in Title VII to the anti-

retaliation provision of the ADA, however, § 12203 presents

that “rare case[]” in which “a broader consideration of” the

ADA, in light of the remedial provisions of Title VII,

“indicates that this interpretation of the statutory

language does not comport with Congress’[s] clearly

expressed intent.” Tomka, 66 F.3d at 1314. Accordingly,

the district court’s conclusion that Schulmann could not be

liable for the alleged acts of retaliation was correct and

15
presents no basis for disturbing the grant of summary

judgment to Schulmann on the Plaintiffs’ ADA retaliation

claims. 2

VII. The NYSHRL and NYCHRL Claims

In their complaint, the Plaintiffs claimed that

Schulmann had violated the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL by

terminating Spiegel because of his weight. This Court has

determined that a plaintiff’s discrimination claims under

both the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL are subject to the burden-

shifting analysis applied to discrimination claims under

Title VII. See Dawson v. Bumble & Bumble, 398 F.3d 211,

216-17 (2d Cir. 2005). Under this test, a plaintiff

establishes a prima facie case of discrimination by showing

that: (1) he was a member of a protected class; (2) he was

2
Plaintiffs correctly point out that the district court
failed to address their claim that Schulmann ordered
Schatzberg’s termination in retaliation for Schatzberg’s
support of Spiegel’s discrimination claim. Because this
retaliation claim, which alleges that the termination violated
§ 12203, is raised against Schulmann as an individual, the
reasoning already discussed in this opinion applies with equal
force, and the claim presents no basis for remand. See Santos
v. Murdock, 243 F.3d 681, 683 (2d Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (“On
appeal, we may affirm a district court’s grant of summary
judgment on any ground upon which the district court could
have rested its decision.”).

16
competent to perform the job in question, or was performing

the job duties satisfactorily; (3) he suffered an adverse

employment action; and (4) the action occurred under

circumstances that give rise to an inference of

discrimination. Id. at 216. If the plaintiff succeeds in

establishing a prima facie case of discrimination, a

presumption of discrimination arises, and the burden shifts

to the defendant, who must proffer some legitimate

nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse action. Id. “If

the defendant proffers such a reason, the presumption of

discrimination . . . drops out of the analysis, and the

defendant will be entitled to summary judgment . . . unless

the plaintiff can point to evidence that reasonably supports

a finding of prohibited discrimination.” Id. (internal

quotation marks and citation omitted). The plaintiff must

demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the

legitimate reason offered by the defendant is actually

pretext for discrimination. Id.

Under the NYSHRL, it is an unlawful discriminatory

practice for an employer to discharge an individual because

of a disability, which is a “a physical, mental or medical

17
impairment resulting from anatomical, physiological, genetic

or neurological conditions which prevents the exercise of a

normal bodily function or is demonstrable by medically

accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic techniques.”

N.Y. Exec. Law §§ 292(21), 296(1)(a). Here, with respect to

the Plaintiffs’ claim that the Defendants had violated the

state anti-discrimination laws by terminating Spiegel on the

basis of his weight, the district court first determined

that Spiegel had failed to establish a prima facie case

because he had failed to show that he was disabled for

purposes of that statute. That is, he had not demonstrated

that his weight was the result of a medical condition. As

the district court pointed out, New York courts have

determined that, under the NYSHRL, “weight, in and of

itself, does not constitute a disability for discrimination

qualification purposes and . . . discrimination claims in

that respect are . . . unsustainable.” Delta Air Lines v.

N.Y. State Div. of Human Rights, 689 N.E.2d 898, 902 (N.Y.

1997). In order to succeed on a weight-based discrimination

claim under the NYSHRL, a plaintiff must “proffer evidence

or make a record establishing that [he is] medically

18
incapable of meeting [the employer’s] weight requirements

due to some cognizable medical condition.” Id.

On appeal, the Plaintiffs argue that Spiegel did

present evidence to demonstrate that a medical condition

rendered him incapable of losing weight — and point to the

letter from Spiegel’s physician diagnosing him with

hypogonadism. That letter, on its own, however, does not

connect Spiegel’s weight to this diagnosis. Further,

Spiegel’s argument that other evidence in the record

demonstrated that his medical condition rendered him

incapable of losing weight lacks merit. In his affidavit to

the CCHRO, Spiegel stated that his condition caused him “to

gain excessive weight.” In his deposition testimony,

Spiegel stated that he had gone to a physician hoping to

lose weight and maintain his position with the karate

centers, and that the physician had diagnosed him with a

hormonal imbalance. Although these statements demonstrate

that Spiegel believed there was a connection between his

condition and his inability to lose weight, there is no

competent medical evidence confirming that connection. Even

drawing the inferences in favor of the Plaintiffs on this

19
claim, the evidence in the record was insufficient to

demonstrate a genuine factual dispute with respect to

whether Spiegel was medically incapable of losing weight

such that he might have qualified as disabled under the

NYSHRL. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s grant

of summary judgment to Schulmann on the Plaintiffs’ NYSHRL

claim.

With respect to the Plaintiffs’ claim that Schulmann

had violated the NYCHRL, the district court assumed, without

deciding, that Spiegel=s weight might constitute a

disability under that law. The court concluded, however,

that Spiegel had failed to adduce evidence that Schulmann=s

explanation for the termination was pretext for

discrimination. In making this determination, the district

court acknowledged Spiegel=s deposition testimony that

Vincent Gravina, who was the Aleader@ of the Bensonhurst

Center at the time of Spiegel=s termination from that

center, had initially told Spiegel that the termination was

based on his weight, but the court concluded that the

testimony was inadmissible hearsay and, thus, not sufficient

to withstand a motion for summary judgment. On appeal, the

20
Plaintiffs, citing to Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2), argue that

the district court Ainexplicably dismissed Spiegel=s

testimony as hearsay.@

It is well established that, Ain determining the

appropriateness of a grant of summary judgment, [this

court], like the district court in awarding summary

judgment, may rely only on admissible evidence.@ Ehrens v.

Lutheran Church, 385 F.3d 232, 235 (2d Cir. 2004). As a

preliminary matter, the testimony rejected by the district

court as inadmissible hearsay likely would have created a

genuine issue of material fact with respect to the

legitimacy of the Defendants= proffered reason for Spiegel=s

termination from the Bensonhurst center. Spiegel=s testimony

that Gravina told him that the termination was weight-

related directly contradicted Gravina=s testimony about the

reason for the termination. Further, Spiegel=s CCHRO

affidavit B attesting that Schulmann had directly stated

that Spiegel could no longer work for the karate centers

because of his weight B also directly contradicted the

Defendants= proffered reason for the decision to terminate

him.

21
 It was error to conclude that Spiegel=s testimony

regarding Gravina=s statements was hearsay. Further, the

district court overlooked the portion of Spiegel=s affidavit

in which he stated that Schulmann had terminated him for

being overweight. Although each item of evidence consists

of Spiegel=s description of what another person said to him,

Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2) specifically provides

that a statement is not hearsay if it is offered against a

party and is either A(A) the party=s own statement, in either

an individual or a representative capacity or . . . (D) a

statement by the party=s agent or servant concerning a

matter within the scope of the agency or employment, made

during the existence of the relationship.@

Spiegel=s affidavit described Schulmann=s statement that

he was terminating Spiegel based on Spiegel=s weight. Were

Spiegel to testify at trial in this matter, his testimony

regarding Schulmann=s statement would be admissible under

Rule 801(d)(2)(A) because Schulmann is a party to this

proceeding and the statement was his own. Further,

Spiegel=s testimony regarding Gravina=s statement would be

admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(D). The record contained

22
evidence that Gravina and Schulmann were co-owners of the

corporation that owned and operated the Bensonhurst school,

with Schulmann owning a controlling interest in the

corporation. Schulmann testified that he had, on another

occasion, directed the co-owner of the Stamford center to

fire Spiegel. Spiegel testified that Gravina stated that he

had been told to fire Spiegel from the Bensonhurst center

because of Spiegel=s weight. The relationship between

Gravina and Schulmann, as well as Schulmann=s direction to

another center=s owner to fire Spiegel, creates the

inference that Gravina was acting as Schulmann=s agent or

servant when he told Spiegel that the termination was based

on Spiegel=s weight. If this inference is drawn in the

Plaintiffs= favor, Spiegel=s description of Gravina=s

statement is admissible against Schulmann as the statement

of his agent or servant, made during the existence of the

relationship between Gravina and Schulmann.

Had the district court considered the Plaintiffs’

evidence on this point, it could not have relied on the lack

of evidence of pretext as a basis for granting the

Defendants summary judgment on this claim. Rather, it would

23
have been required to determine whether the Plaintiffs

satisfied the prima facie element of their municipal law

claim.

The NYCHRL makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice

for an employer to discharge an employee “because of the

actual or perceived . . . disability” of that individual.

N.Y. City Admin. Code § 8-107(1)(a). The NYCHRL defines

“disability” as “any physical, medical, mental or

psychological impairment,” id. § 8-102(16)(a), which is then

defined, in relevant part, as “an impairment of any system

of the body; including, but not limited to: the neurological

system; the musculoskeletal system; the special sense organs

and respiratory organs, including, but not limited to,

speech organs; the cardiovascular system; the reproductive

system; the digestive and genito-urinary systems; the hemic

and lymphatic systems; the immunological systems; the skin;

and the endocrine system.” Id. § 8-102(16)(b)(1). This

definition of disability is, on its face, broader than that

provided by the NYSHRL.

Neither the New York Court of Appeals nor any

intermediate New York appellate court has addressed the

24
question whether obesity alone constitutes a disability for

the purposes of the NYCHRL. The New York courts have

recently noted that, under the Local Civil Rights

Restoration Act of 2005, Local Law No. 85 of the City of New

York, “analysis [of NYCHRL provisions] must be targeted to

understanding and fulfilling what the statute characterizes

as the City HRL’s ‘uniquely broad and remedial’ purposes,

which go beyond those of counterpart State or federal civil

rights laws.” Williams v. N.Y. City Housing Auth., 61

A.D.3d 62, 66 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009), leave to appeal denied

by 13 N.Y.3d 702 (2009). “In short, the text and

legislative history represent a desire that the City HRL

‘meld the broadest vision of social justice with the

strongest law enforcement deterrent.’” Id. at 68 (quoting

Craig Gurian, A Return to Eyes on the Prize: Litigating

Under the Restored New York City Human Rights Law, 33

Fordham Urb. L.J. 255, 262 (2008)). These general

observations regarding NYCHRL provisions, however, have not

been considered by these courts in the context of a claim

related to obesity.

25
 As a result of the district court’s incorrect

evidentiary determination, the district court did not

address the question whether obesity alone constitutes a

disability pursuant to the NYCHRL. We conclude that it is

thus appropriate here to remand to the district court for it

to consider in the first instance whether Spiegel has made

out a prima facie case of discrimination under the

disability provision of the NYCHRL, interpreting any

applicable provisions of the NYCHRL and the Restoration Act.

On remand, the district court may also decide whether to

exercise supplemental jurisdiction over this claim; it may

determine that this area of law would benefit from further

development in the state courts and therefore dismiss the

claim without prejudice to refiling in state court.

VIII. Assignment to a Different District Court Judge

Finally, the Plaintiffs request that this Court direct

that this case be assigned to another district court judge

on remand. “Reassignment of a case on remand should occur

only when the facts might reasonably cause an objective

observer to question the judge’s impartiality.” United

26
States v. Cole, 496 F.3d 188, 195 (2d Cir. 2007) (citing

United States v. Londono, 100 F.3d 236, 242 (2d Cir. 1996)).

Plaintiffs argue that the district court’s ruling is so far

off the mark that it “can only be explained by a bias

against Plaintiffs’ claims.” App. Br. at 46-47. As we are

affirming with respect to nearly all claims, we obviously do

not share Plaintiffs’ view that the district court’s

decision could only have been based on bias.

The Plaintiffs also contend that “the judge all but

explained . . . that . . . she had undertaken to scour the

record to find a basis for knocking out Plaintiffs’ claims.”

App. Br. at 47. The district court, however, explicitly

relied on our past holding that a district court may “opt to

conduct an assiduous review of the record even where one of

the parties has failed to file [a proper Rule 56.1]

statement.” Dist. Ct. Op. at 2 n.3 (quoting Holtz v.

Rockefeller & Co., 258 F.3d 62, 73 (2d Cir. 2001)) (internal

quotation marks omitted). We decline the invitation to

presume a district judge’s bias from her searching review of

the record. The Plaintiffs have not pointed to anything in

the record indicating that Judge Townes was not impartial

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and rely merely on their fundamental disagreements with her

on questions of law. Such disagreements are no basis for

reassignment.

IX. Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of

the district court in part and VACATE AND REMAND in part.

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