Under the Family Law, the State has certain authority to seek to protect children in danger by removing them temporarily from their parents' care. Placing a child in foster care is a heart-wrenching decision that under the law has to be based on what is in the best interests of the child. That decision, however, …
Court of Appeals Holds One Attempt at Personal Service Enough to Permit Nail and Mail Under NYC Charter
Service of papers saying that you violated a local municipal law implicates important due process concerns. If a property owner doesn't get notice that something at his or her property violates local zoning regulations, he or she won't have an opportunity to contest the violation or try to work out a deal to fix it. …
Court of Appeals Holds Standard for Punitive Damages Under NYCHRL is Willful or Wanton Negligence, Recklessness, or Conscious Disregard
The New York City Human Rights Law provides strong protections against discrimination in all of its forms. Â To strengthen those protections, the NYCHRL makes punitive damages available to a prevailing plaintiff. Â Its text, however, doesn't provide the standard that the courts should apply when determining whether the plaintiff should be awarded punitives. Â That's a problem. …
Court of Appeals OKs Retroactive Impact of Closure of Workers Compensation Law’s Special Fund for Reopened Cases
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 …
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 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 Deals Blow to Right to Die Movement in New York
Four states have legalized the right to aid-in-dying, which is generally defined as the right of a mentally competent and terminally ill person to obtain a prescription for a lethal dosage of drugs from a physician, to be taken at some point to cause death—Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and California. New York, on the other hand, …
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Court of Appeals Holds Promissory Estoppel and Unconscionability May Foreclose Reliance on the Statute of Frauds
For years, you work with your grandfather to manage his rental apartments. When he retires from the business, you take over the rentals and upkeep of the building. You find tenants. You pay the mortgage and taxes. You do everything. In exchange for your years of work, he orally promises to give you the building …
Court of Appeals Holds Bail Bondsmen Can’t Keep Bond Premium if Defendant Not Released
Arthur Bogoraz is a bad dude. For more than three years, he ran a multi-million dollar no-fault insurance fraud scheme by convincing radiologists to review MRIs and submit fake insurance claims for payment. He paid the radiologists kickbacks and then not only pocketed the cash, but used the radiologists' information to set up fake medical …
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