Alexa Abowitz, a partner in Cetrulo & Capone's employment department, argued a race discrimination case in front of the Second Circuit last week.

At issue were the viability of plaintiff's conspiracy claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) and race discrimination in contract claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Plaintiff appealed from the Southern District of New York's grant of some defendants' motion to dismiss and grant of the remaining defendants' motion for summary judgment. Our clients, a vast array of entities associated with a small educational institution in New York (and only a fraction of the defendants named), argued that the plaintiff did not meet the requisite threshold to establish a meeting of the minds among such a varied group of defendants. Moreover, the record before the court did not establish that any action of which plaintiff complained was taken against him because of his race.