Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in New York

If you have been sued in your individual capacity for alleged discriminatory behavior toward an employee, leaving your company would not affect your potential liability. The only way to get rid of the case is to file a Motion to Dismiss, if the facts alleged in the Complaint would not be sufficient to state a claim against you even if proved true. If the facts alleged against you would be sufficient to state a claim if proved true, you will need to complete discovery (exchange of documents, depositions, etc.) and file a Motion for Summary Judgment. Even then, the case could go to trial if the facts are disputed and there is evidence to support the plaintiff's allegations.

You are probably going to need to hire an attorney to represent you in the case. It may be possible for one attorney to represent both you and your employer depending on the allegations and whether there is a conflict of interest, in which case you may be able to convince your employer to pay for the defense. However, if you simply ignore the Complaint, the plaintiff will get a default judgment against you. If you would like to come into my office for a free consultation, I would be happy to look over the Complaint for you and give you my thoughts.