When he lost his job, Howard Hoffman--a Georgia resident who worked in Parade Magazine's Atlanta office--filed an age-discrimination claim against the company under both the New York City and New York State Human Rights Laws.
While Parade argued that the case should be dismissed because Hoffman didn't live or work in the New York area, Hoffman countered that the appropriate authority or "jurisdiction" existed because the wrongful conduct--the decision to fire him--occurred here.
After the New York County Supreme Court dismissed the suit, the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed and reinstated the litigation.
When the matter reached our state's highest court, the Court of Appeals thought that, in order to sue under our laws, a party must show that the "impact" of the discriminatory act was felt either in the City (when it comes to the NYC Human Rights Law) or the State (when it comes to the NYS Human Rights Law).
Because it felt that basing a court's jurisdiction on where a firing decision occurred would encourage people with little or no contacts to file lawsuits, the Court of Appeals opted to put the whole thing to bed.
Did that Parade pass him by?
To view a copy of the Court of Appeals's decision, please use this link: Hoffman v. Parade Publs