Virtually lost in the scandal surrounding the firing of FBI Director James Comey is that the President will now have to pick someone to succeed him as the head of the FBI. Speculation has run rampant concerning a list of potential new directors, and one name on that list is, according to Politico's sources, Court …
Continue reading "Court of Appeals Judge Michael Garcia to Interview for FBI Director"
In Matter of Weber v State Univ. of N.Y., Coll. At Cortland, the Third Department confirmed a SUNY determination to expel a student for sexually assaulting another student, finding that the victim never consented to sex. This case is pretty clear cut and would not be that remarkable if it wasn't for the Third Department's …
Continue reading "Third Department, This Time, Upholds Expulsion of Student for Sexual Assault"
In Bank of N.Y. Mellon v WMC Mtge., LLC, Bank of NY Mellon was left holding thousands of defective residential mortgage backed securities after the real estate market collapse in 2008. The Bank of NY, which became the administrator of the loans in a securitized trust in June 2006, sued WMC Mortgage and JPMorgan Chase …
In Pyskaty v. Wide World of Cars, LLC, the Second Circuit joins the Third and Sixth Circuits in holding that when a plaintiff sues for rescission of a contract, the total value of the contract, without any offsets, is the amount in controversy for jurisdictional purposes. In Psykaty, the plaintiff bought a certified pre-owned BMW …
In Kimmel v State of New York (No. 36), previewed here and here, the Court of Appeals was asked whether an award of attorney's fees is available to a prevailing plaintiff against the State under the Equal Access to Justice Act (CPLR article 86) in an action alleging sex discrimination by a state agency in …
In People v Bushey (No. 50), the Court of Appeals was asked to decide if it was an unreasonable search for the police to run a license plate of a driver who was obeying the rules of the road through a Department of Motor Vehicles database to check for any outstanding violations. In Bushey, the …
In Philpott v State of New York (SDNY Case No. 16 CIV 6778), U.S. District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein decided he wouldn't wait to see if the Second Circuit would grant en banc review in Christiansen v Omnicom Group to hold that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Relying on Chief …
Continue reading "SDNY Judge Holds Sexual Orientation Discrimination is Cognizable Under Title VII"
In Connaughton v Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (No. 46), a celebrity chef sued Chipotle for fraudulent inducement after he entered an agreement to develop a ramen noodle chain for Chipotle. The deal, however, fell through when the plaintiff was told that Chipotle had previously entered a similar deal with a different celebrity chef, and that …
Under the New York Constitution, judges cannot continue to sit on the bench beyond the end of the year that they turn 70 years old unless they are recertified for an additional 2 year term. Recertification can happen three times, with judges forced to step off the bench entirely at 76. The determination whether to …
This is an interesting development in the process to appoint a new Associate Judge to the Court of Appeals to fill Judge Shelia Abdus-Salaam's seat. Although the Governor may want a new Judge confirmed by the end of the June legislative session, it seems highly unlikely that that will be possible. Applications to fill the …
New York Appeals 