Out of work and out of court.

The First Department found that defendant had offered legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for plaintiff's termination, in Elizarov v. Martha Stewart Living, which was decided on November 8, 2007. The court said that plaintiff offered no evidence to controvert defendant's proof that economic conditions made cost-cutting necessary, resulting in significant job layoffs, or that defendant's downsizing was somehow contrived for the purpose of terminating him. In addition, noted the court, plaintiff conceded that defendant granted his vacation request and let him attend religious services during his lunch hour. In light of that, his alleged "failure to accommodate" claim was dismissed.