Imagine you hurt your shoulder and it's just not getting better. You go to the doctor after trying rehab and he says it's time for surgery. You schedule the date, head in to the hospital, and the doctor fixes your shoulder, or at least he says he did. He tells you to follow up with …
Court of Appeals: Indenture Trustee Can Bring Third Party Actions to Recover for Fraudulent Redemption of Assets Rendering Debtor Insolvent
Financial fraud is complex. The schemes cooked up by fraudsters are intricate, and the financial maneuvers used are often difficult to follow. The fraud alleged in Cortlandt Street Recovery Corp. v Bonderman (No. 14) is no different. Breaking it down to the extent I can, a number of private equity investors were interested in acquiring …
Plurality of Court of Appeals Holds Party Barred from Asserting a Federal Compulsory Counterclaim in a Subsequent State Court Suit
A case about movie investments is the latest that has closely divided the Court of Appeals. Actually, the issue before the Court had absolutely nothing to do with the movie or the lost investment. Instead, it’s the kind of issue that sparks interest in the community of appellate lawyers who look at how the courts …
Court of Appeals: Private Facebook Posts are Discoverable Under Normal Discovery Rules
Like privacy wonks have always said, everything you do online will live on forever. In metadata, back up tapes, and the cloud. The same is true for what you say on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform. And although privacy settings can protect your content from the general public, limiting it to sharing …
Court of Appeals: Sorry, Judges. The State’s Contribution to Your Health Insurance is Not Part of Your Compensation
New York employees have pretty great health insurance options. Having left the State's employ and its health insurance to move to the private sector and non-collectively bargained health insurance, believe me, I know. Premiums are low. Coverage is high. And the State covers a substantial part of the cost. So too for New York's judges. …
Court of Appeals Answers Second Circuit Certified Questions in World Trade Center Cleanup Suit Against Battery Park City Authority
After the 9/11 terrorist attack, first responders and volunteers spent weeks/months/years cleaning up the City from the debris and dust left after the World Trade Center towers fell. A few of the buildings that were cleaned up were owned by the Battery Park  City Authority, a public benefit corporation created by the Legislature to spur …
Court of Appeals: When a Court Dismisses an Uncertified Class Action, Notice to Class Members is Mandatory
Today, I'm happy to present a guest post by Jared Cook (@jkimballcook on Twitter), an attorney with the Rochester firm Adams Bell Adams, PC. Jared’s practice focuses on civil appeals, construction contract disputes, employment law, civil rights, and class actions. Contact him at jcook@abalawpc.com. A plaintiff files a complaint with class action allegations, but before …
Court of Appeals Holds Reinsurance Agreements Must Be Interpreted Like Any Other Contract
Reinsurance is insurance for insurers. Big money insurers often seek to defray their risk by paying a reinsurer to cover some of their liability for big payouts. For example, if an insurer issues a $10 million business policy, a reinsurance policy might cover half of that. So if a $10 million claim is paid by …
Court of Appeals Declines to Up the Standards for SEQRA Review
The State Environmental Quality Review Act requires that agencies, municipalities, and local boards that have power to approve or fund projects study the potential adverse environmental impacts of a proposal before they approve it. This makes sense. If a project is going to have adverse environmental consequences for a community, the agency approving it should know that …
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Court of Appeals Holds Trial Judges Must Give Cross-Racial Identification Jury Instruction in Almost Every Case
Let's set the stage. You're walking down the street at night on your way back from work. You're approached by a stranger, about the same age but a different race. He asks you the time, and as you pull out your phone to respond, he snatches it, threatens you with a knife, and runs. The …
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