The list of names to fill the Court of Appeals seat vacated after the tragic death of Associate Judge Shelia Abdus-Salaam has been narrowed to 7. In what was a really quick two-week turnaround (the Commission's selection process typically takes months), the Commission on Judicial Nomination reviewed 40 applications, interviewed 16 of the applicants, and …
Court of Appeals May-June Session: Arguments of Interest for June 1, 2017
This is it, the final day of argument before the Court of Appeals' break for the summer. There are only two cases on the argument docket today (the Court's case summaries can be found here), which present the following issues: (1) whether a bail bondsman may retain a bail bond premium if the bond is …
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Court of Appeals May-June Session: Arguments of Interest for May 31, 2017
The Court of Appeals' May-June Session continues on May 31st with three cases on the argument docket (the Court's case summaries can be found here). The Court will address the following issues: (1) whether a decedent entered a binding and irrevocable agreement with his grandsons to care for and maintain his rental property in exchange …
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Court of Appeals May-June Session: Arguments of Interest for May 30, 2017
The Court of Appeals begins its final argument session before the summer recess on Tuesday, May 30th. This is a short one-week session with only three days of argument, as is typical for the May-June Session. Today, there are three cases on the argument docket ( the Court's case summaries can be found here), which …
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En Banc Second Circuit Agrees to Decide Whether Title VII Protects Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Following the Second Circuit's opinion in Christiansen v Omnicom Group, where the Court held it was constrained to dismiss a sexual orientation discrimination claim under Title VII because a three-Judge panel of the Court could not overrule the binding precedent in Simonton v Runyon, which held that sexual orientation discrimination claims are not cognizable under …
Expressions Hair Design Update: Second Circuit Calls For Further Briefing, Asks Parties to Address Whether Part of Case Should Be Certified to Court of Appeals
After the Supreme Court unanimously held in March that New York's credit card surcharge law regulates speech, the Second Circuit has taken up the case again. As a refresher, New York General Business Law § 518 provides that that “[n]o seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a holder who elects to …
Court of Appeals Upholds DMV Regulations Barring Recidivist DWI Offenders from Getting Licenses Back
When the first few lines of an opinion begin like this, you pretty much know how it will end. In Matter of Acevedo v New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (Nos. 40, 41, and 42), the Court of Appeals rejected three challenges brought by recidivist drunk drivers to new regulations adopted by the DMV that foreclosed …
Second Circuit Certifies Question to Court of Appeals Whether Untreated Alcoholics are Disabled Under NYCHRL
In Makinen v City of New York, two New York City police officers sued the City and the Police Commissioner alleging that they were discriminated against because they were perceived to be untreated alcoholics, a form of disability discrimination. The problem is, they weren't alcoholics at all, and the express terms of the New York …
First Department Holds that Insurance Law 3105 Doesn’t Immunize Insurer from Proving Justifiable Reliance and Loss Causation to Succeed on Fraud Claim
Under New York Insurance Law § 3105, insurers have an out. If you materially misrepresent something when buying insurance, the insurer can get out of the contract. That's valuable to insurers as it transfers the risk of loss when the insurer was induced to issue a policy based upon false information. In Ambac Assur. Corp. …
Court of Appeals Judge Michael Garcia to Interview for FBI Director
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 …
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