The Court of Appeals is back with new opinions about the meaning of the language “direct physical loss or damage” in insurance policies and whether a threat of litigation can constitute adverse action for a retaliation claim under the Human Rights Law. Let’s take a look at those opinions and what else has been happening …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 2.16.24: New York Trial court Rejects Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s Constitutional Challenge to the New York Early Mail Voter Act
This week, our most interesting case comes not from one of New York’s appellate courts (at least not yet), but from our trial courts. In Supreme Court, Albany County, the court dismissed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s constitutional challenge to New York’s new early voting by mail law that just became effective in January 2024. Now, Congresswoman …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 2.9.24: ChatGPT Strikes Again, and the Second Circuit Strikes Back
I thought we learned our lesson the first time a lawyer cited cases that were fabricated by ChatGPT. Apparently not. Now, the Second Circuit has had to weigh in, send another lawyer for potential discipline for citing non-existent cases in a brief, and caution the bar that the rules governing attorney conduct already forbid the …
NYSBA CasePrep Plus Newsletter 2.2.24: Can a NYC Landlord Avoid Liability for an Infant Subtenant’s Lead Poisoning Merely Because the Landlord Wasn’t immediately told About the Sublease?
When the New York City Council adopts consumer protection measures, they are often construed broadly to protect the consumer. As the First Department held, the NYC requirement that a contractor have a valid home improvement license to perform work in the City is no different. Nor could a landlord avoid liability for an infant’s lead …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 1.26.24: Can Manual Workers Recover Liquidated Damages for Delayed Pay?
Bucking the trend in New York that almost every interlocutory order is immediately appealable, one appellate court said not so fast in SORA proceedings. Only the final SORA order after the mandatory hearing can be reviewed on appeal. Another introduced a conflict with a sister Appellate Division department over whether manual workers can recover liquidated …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 1.19.24: Chief Judge Rowan Wilson Laments How the Criminal Justice System Can Turn “Minor Antisocial Behavior” Into Needless Criminal Convictions
The most interesting case coming out of New York’s appellate courts doesn’t involve a legal issue at all. Rather, it’s New York Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson’s concurrence in a criminal case about how the criminal justice system should be flexible to address the mental health needs of individuals, rather than reflexively sentencing …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 1.12.24: What is the Quickest Way for an Attorney to Get Suspended From the Practice of Law?
This week we have attorney discipline for the easiest way a lawyer can get himself or herself into trouble and the judicial ethics of recusal involving judicial campaigns, among many other interesting things. Let’s take a look what has been happening in New York’s appellate courts over the past week. Appellate Division, First Department Tamar …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 1.5.24: Is the Use of a Police Dog to Sniff a Person for Concealed Drugs a Search under the Fourth Amendment?
Happy New Year! Let’s take a look what has been happening in New York’s appellate courts over the past week. Court of Appeals People v Butler, 2023 NY Slip Op 06468 (Ct App Dec. 19, 2023) Criminal Law Issue: Does the use of a canine to detect the scent of illegal drugs concealed on a …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus NewsLetter 12.22.23: May a Witness be Properly Allowed to Identify a Criminal Defendant as the Perpetrator of a Crime for the First Time in Court?
It’s a criminal law heavy week here at NYSBA CasePrepPlus. The Court of Appeals addressed when a witness can make an eyewitness identification for the first time at trial and what happens when the prosecution discloses material information after already certifying that it had complied with its mandatory discovery obligations and was ready for trial. …
NYSBA CasePrepPlus Newsletter 12.15.23: Do the New York Redistricting Maps Drawn by the Special Master in Harkenrider Continue until the 2030 Census?
It was a big week in the appellate world, with the duration of the court-drawn New York redistricting maps taking center stage. Let’s take a look what has been happening in New York’s appellate courts over the past week. Court of Appeals Matter of Hoffmann v New York State Ind. Redistricting Commn., 2023 NY Slip Op …
New York Appeals 