In American Economy Insurance Company v State of New York (No. 96), previewed here, two titans of the appellate world faced off in a dispute over the phase out of a special workers’ compensation fund that pays benefits to injured workers whose cases were closed and later reopened. The plaintiffs, represented by WilmerHale's Seth Waxman, former Solicitor General …
Judge Rowan Wilson, in Strong Dissent, Would Scrap Civil Commitment for Sex Offenders
Judge Rowan Wilson isn't afraid to step out on a limb when he sees inequity or incongruity. He reminds me of another independent commercial litigator that once sat on the Court of Appeals—former Judge Robert Smith. Judge Smith was well known not only for his voracious questioning at oral argument, but also for pointing out …
A Conversation with Judge Michael Lynch of the Appellate Division, Third Department
If you're invited to a brown bag lunch with a judge, be sure to bring a lunch. That was the mistake I made this week at the Albany County Bar Association's first quarterly brown bag lunch event with local judges. (In my defense, I ran out of time to grab lunch and wanted to make …
Court of Appeals Holds Plaintiffs Can’t Base Discrimination Claim Under the NYC Human Rights Law on Untreated Alcoholism
Under Title VII and the New York State Human Rights Law, individuals are protected from discrimination on the basis of a perceived disability, even if they don't have one. The New York City Human Rights Law is generally interpreted to be even more protective than Title VII and the State Human Rights Law. In fact, …
Court of Appeals October Session: Arguments of Interest for October 18, 2017
The Court of Appeals finishes up the October session arguments on Wednesday, October 18th with three cases on the calendar (the Court's case summaries can found here). First on the docket is a case asking whether one attempt at personal service of notices of violation on a property owner was enough of a reasonable attempt …
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Court of Appeals October Session: Arguments of Interest for October 17, 2017
The Court of Appeals begins its second week of arguments for the October session on Tuesday, October 17th with three cases on its calendar (the Court's case summaries can be found here). First up is a criminal case asking whether a criminal defendant should have been entitled to a cross-racial identification jury charge at his …
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Fourth Department Affirms Class Certification for Buffalo Jills in Case Against NFL, Bills
In Ferrari v The National Football League, four former members of the Buffalo Jills, the Bills' cheerleading squad, brought a proposed class action against the NFL, the Bills, and their employer alleging that they weren't paid for hundreds of hours of work because they were "deliberately misclassified as independent contractors rather than employees." The Jills' …
The Appellate Division Summer Leave Grants
While the Court of Appeals takes most of the summer off, its docket still grows. That's because the Appellate Division is still working away on decisions, and granting leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals in cases it thinks should be heard. As was seen during the Court of Appeals' 2016-17 term, the Appellate …
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Court of Appeals Sends Kazahk Billionaire’s Suit Over Bad Financial Advice to Arbitration in London
In Garthon Business Inc. v Stein (No. 99), which I previewed here, the Court of Appeals was asked whether Kazakh billionaire Patokh Chodiev's suit alleging breach of contract, fraud, and negligence for bad financial advice could be litigated in New York, or had to proceed to arbitration in London. The dispute involved multiple different investment advisement agreements with …
Court of Appeals October Session: Arguments of Interest for October 12, 2017
The Court of Appeals finishes up the first week of arguments in the October session with three criminal cases on the docket (the Court's case summaries can be found here). The Court will hear arguments on the following issues: (1) whether a criminal defendant was entitle to a writ of error coram nobis to reopen …
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