CASES & COURTS
IN THE PAPER
- Your Practice
- This Week's News
- Outside Counsel
- Technology Today
- Corporate Update
- Real Estate
- NYLJ Columnists
- Essays
- Letters to the Editor
- Calendar of Events
- Book Reviews
- Solos & Small Firms
- Young Lawyers
- Law Students
- Pro Bono
- GC New York
- Election 2009
- Judicial Pay Impasse
- At the Capital
- NYLJ 100
NYLJ SERVICES
Featured Sponsors
At The Capital
Ruling Strikes Down Comptroller's Authority to Audit Charter Schools
Friday, June 26, 2009
The state Court of Appeals yesterday struck down as unconstitutional a 2005 state law that directed the state comptroller to audit the books of charter schools. The judges also declined to quash a subpoena issued by the New York City Department of Investigation against a woman who misstated comments by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer at a public hearing, and it ruled that injured motorists can be made to forfeit supplementary insurance coverage if they settle with more than one tortfeaser without their insurer's permission.
Free With Registration: Injury During Exam Ruled Malpractice, Not Simple Negligence
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Doctors who injure patients during the independent medical examinations required for plaintiffs in personal injury cases are subject to medical malpractice claims, not actions for ordinary negligence, a widely divided state Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. The majority of the 4-3 Court held that a "limited physician-patient relationship" exists during such examinations, typically performed at the behest of insurers to determine the extent of injuries plaintiffs suffered in prior accidents. The the 2 1/2-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice should apply to any claims brought against doctors for harm done during the exams, the majority said.
State Panel Approves Reporting of Partial Matches Between Crime Scene DNA and Databank Samples
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
A state commission has approved an expansion of the use of DNA evidence by allowing forensic laboratories to report to law enforcement agencies instances where partial matches have been found between crime scene DNA and samples on file in the New York's DNA Databank. Near matches may indicate that a close relative of the individual whose sample already is in the 341,000-offender database is likely the perpetrator, forensic scientists say.
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
Police Gun Buyers' Names Not Public, Divided Panel Rules
Monday, June 15, 2009
The names of current and former Albany police officers who used official channels to purchase military-style assault weapons for personal use do not have to be disclosed, a divided Third Department panel ruled last week. Justice Anthony T. Kane, writing for a three-judge majority, said the officers' names were exempt from disclosure under the state's Freedom of Information Law because the information could be used to evaluate or discipline them.
Free: Court Finds Attorney's Unsolicited Faxes Did Not Violate Communications Act
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Court of Appeals yesterday unanimously ruled that the 14 faxes attorney Andrew Lavoott Bluestone sent to another solo practitioner, Peter Marc Stern, were basically informational, not promotional, in nature, and therefore did not violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 or the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005. "To the extent that Bluestone may have devised the reports as a way to impress other attorneys with his legal expertise and gain referrals, the faxes may be said to contain, at most, '[a]n incidental advertisement' of his services, which 'does not convert the entire communication into an advertisement,'" the court held.
Split Panel Rejects Curfew Imposed on Rochester Youths
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The city of Rochester's curfew on teens, enacted in 2006 following a rash of murders and assaults of young people, many of them at night, was thrown out yesterday by a divided Court of Appeals, with the majority faulting the evidence on which the city relied to justify the measure and finding that the ordinance violated the constitutional rights of parents.
Free With Registration: Legal Aid Wins Bid to Be Notified of City Plans to Evict Homeless
Friday, June 5, 2009
The "broadly worded" terms of a 1981 consent decree provide that the Legal Aid Society, the designated representatives of the homeless, should have "access to any records relevant to enforcement and monitoring" of the decree, which includes notification whenever the city has told shelter residents they are to be evicted for misbehavior or for other conduct that makes them ineligible to receive housing and welfare assistance, the Court of Appeals held yesterday.
Driver Was Negligent, But County Held Liable
Thursday, May 28, 2009
A jury's finding that a driver had operated his car negligently does not preclude Schenectady County from being found 100 percent liable for the severe brain injuries the driver suffered when his vehicle plunged into a drainage ditch alongside a county roadway, a Third Department panel has concluded. To hold Vincenzo Popolizio at least partly liable, the county would have had to show that his negligence was so "inextricably interwoven" with his injuries as to support a finding that his fault was a proximate cause of those injuries, the court held.
Free With Registration: Integrity Panel Director Quits; Paterson Seeks New Ethics Body
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Herbert Teitelbaum resigned as executive director of the Commission on Public Integrity yesterday, five days after Governor David A. Paterson and the state's inspector general called on him to step aside for allegedly leaking information about a commission investigation of top Spitzer administration officials to the Spitzer camp. Mr. Teitelbaum insisted in a resignation letter to Michael G. Cherkasky, the commission's new chairman, that he had acted honorably throughout the Spitzer probe and that the near-constant controversy swirling around the commission since July 2007 was due to "unfounded attacks on the Commission and me from different quarters pursuing their political self-interests."
Free With Registration: Inspector General, Governor Call for Integrity Head to Resign
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Governor David A. Paterson yesterday called for the resignation of Herbert Teitelbaum, the director of the Commission on Public Integrity, following the release of a report by the state's Inspector General that found Mr. Teitelbaum had improperly disclosed confidential information to a top aide of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer about a commission investigation of the Spitzer administration. Mr. Paterson said Mr. Teitelbaum had compromised the independence of an agency formed to police the conduct of government employees. Mr. Teitelbaum denied any wrongdoing.
Divided Panel Requires Warrant for Use of GPS to Track Suspects
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
A divided Court of Appeals yesterday ordered a new trial for Scott C. Weaver, convicted of burglary in part with evidence from a GPS device State Police attached to his vehicle. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman wrote for the majority that "this dragnet use of the technology at the sole discretion of law enforcement authorities to pry into the details of people's daily lives is not consistent with the values at the core of our state Constitution's prohibition against unreasonable searches."
Presumption Against Suicide A 'Guide,' Not a 'Rule,' Judges Say
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
An appeals panel erred when it found, as a matter of law, that an insurer failed to rebut the presumption against suicide in the case of an unemployed man who was found dead with empty bottles of painkillers and sleeping pills nearby, the Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. In another suicide-related ruling, the Court held that New York's presumption has never been considered outside the context of life insurance payment disputes and has "no role to play" in a medical examiner's conclusions on the cause of death of a Rochester woman, or judicial review of that suicide determination.
Free With Registration: Cy Pres Distribution Allocates $1.2 Million For Tenant Services
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Nearly three-quarters of a $1.6 million settlement reached in 2007 in a class-action case against a company that screens tenant finances should be distributed among groups that advocate for apartment-dwellers through a cy pres fund, a federal judge has agreed. Southern District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has signed an order approving use of some $1.2 million, the amount that could not be returned directly to individual tenants who were the subject of screening reports that violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the New York Fair Credit Reporting Act and other statutes.
Free With Registration: With Bow to the Past, Lippman Defines Own Role and Priorities
Monday, April 20, 2009
Nine weeks after Jonathan Lippman took over the chief judge's office at Court of Appeals Hall, he has not really moved in, with shelves and desktops still largely empty. But although neither the office nor the chief judge's job quite bear his stamp yet, he has taken the first steps. While it would be "foolhardy not to in so many ways follow the script and absolutely continue in the large footsteps set by Judith Kaye," Chief Judge Lippman said, he is intent on re-evaluating every aspect of the state court system as it evolved during the long tenure of his predecessor - with due regard for the challenges posed by a faltering economy and with a focus on "the judges and their courtrooms."
Bar Group Creates Model Code For ALJs in N.Y. State Agencies
Monday, April 13, 2009
The New York State Bar Association has created its first-ever model code for administrative law judges, hearing officers, referees and others who interpret and apply laws and regulations for New York state agencies. The new ethics canons were developed over the past two years by the state bar's subcommittee on the Administrative Law Judiciary. Approved without opposition by the bar's executive committee and the House of Delegates during the group's April meeting in Albany, the model code will be submitted to state agencies and the Legislature for their proposed adoption.
Free With Registration: Local Administrators to Handle Day-to-Day Court Management
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman announced yesterday changes that strip away what court officials describe as an unneeded layer of oversight in New York City's criminal and civil courts. The chief judge said that, effective immediately, he is doing away with the citywide positions of administrative judge for criminal courts and administrative judge for civil courts. Administrative judges in the city's five boroughs now will oversee day-to-day management of the courts.
Lack-of-Notice Defense Reinstated In Closely Watched Sidewalk Case
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Long Island town can assert a lack-of-notice defense in a trip-and-fall case even though town employees directed that notices of a defective sidewalk be sent to the wrong municipal office, a divided Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. The Court also split yesterday over whether the failure of prosecutors to make a psychiatrist's interview with an alleged rape victim available to the defendant was a Brady violation. The Court ruled 5-2 it was not.
Budget Allows for Caps On Criminal Caseloads
Monday, April 6, 2009
A provision in the 2009-10 state budget directs the chief administrative judge to develop caseload limits for attorneys providing representation to indigent criminal defendants in New York City. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said Friday he helped broker an agreement over setting the caseload cap in discussions among the Legislature, Governor David A. Paterson's office and the Legal Aid Society of New York City.
Free With Registration: New Ethics Standards Take Effect Tomorrow
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A new code of conduct for New York attorneys that goes into effect tomorrow should largely be familiar to lawyers who have practiced under the old standards, according to the chairman of the state bar committee that began developing the new code nearly six years ago. The format of the new Rules of Professional Conduct also should be familiar to lawyers from outside the state since they adopt the numbering and titling sequences of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by the ABA in 1983.
Free: OCA Prepares for Impact of Drug Law Reforms
Monday, March 30, 2009
A court program of 15 years standing has provided the model for a new approach to drug offenses announced Friday that stresses treatment rather than incarceration, Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said Friday. The chief judge was on hand as Governor David Paterson and legislative leaders said they had agreed to begin diverting the cases of thousands of lower-level, nonviolent drug offenders in New York to an expanded treatment initiative that would rely on the discretion of state judges. A centerpiece of the agreement is to give judges the discretion to send first- and, in some cases, second-time non-violent offenders into treatment over the objections of prosecutors.
Libel Suit Rejected for Plaintiff's Failure to Prove Actual Malice
Friday, March 27, 2009
A school board member who was the target of a flier saying that he "broke the law" did not demonstrate that political rivals responsible for the accusation knew that it was untrue and thus he could not sue them for libel, the Court of Appeals ruled yesterday in a decision authored by Judge Robert S. Smith. In a separate matter yesterday, the Court declined to hold a Roman Catholic diocese liable for a breach of fiduciary duty in connection with an affair between one of its priests and a woman who had sought counseling from him.
Free With Registration: Four Judges Line Up Top Post Interviews
Monday, March 23, 2009
Governor David A. Paterson has scheduled interviews for today with his top four candidates for the vacant presiding judgeship of the Appellate Division, First Department, sources familiar with the selection process said. The governor is not expected to interview any other candidates to fill the opening he created when he selected former Presiding Justice Jonathan Lippman as chief judge to succeed the retired Judith S. Kaye.
Ex-Hevesi Aides Charged Over Pension Kickbacks
Friday, March 20, 2009
Two top advisers to former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and unnamed associates were charged yesterday with taking about $30 million in fees, kickbacks and gifts to steer pension business to favored companies. Henry "Hank" Morris, 55, Mr. Hevesi's one-time chief political aide, and David Loglisci, 38, the pension system's former chief investment officer, were named in an 128-page, 123-count indictment filed by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office in Manhattan Supreme Court. Mr. Hevesi was not named. "It was a scheme that enriched these two individuals and their friends," said Mary Schapiro, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a parallel civil suit.
Governor Appoints Richter, Lott and Garry to Appellate Divisions
Friday, March 6, 2009
Governor David A. Paterson yesterday appointed Manhattan Justice Rosalyn H. Richter to the First Department, Brooklyn Justice Plummer E. Lott to the Second Department, and Chenango County Justice Elizabeth A. Garry to the Third Department. The appointments, along with those of Justice L. Priscilla Hall and Leonard B. Austin yesterday, bring to eight the number of Appellate Division justices Mr. Paterson has put in place since becoming governor and dramatize what he has said is his intention to enhance diversity on state court benches.
Governor Names Austin, Hall To Appellate Division Openings
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Supreme Court Justices L. Priscilla Hall of Brooklyn and Leonard B. Austin of Nassau County have been appointed by Governor David A. Paterson to openings on the Appellate Division, Second Department. Their selection to the Brooklyn-based appeals court will be among several judicial appointments to be announced today by the governor. Designations to the Appellate Division do not require state Senate confirmation. The appointments leave one associate justice opening in the Second Department, two in the First Department in addition to the presiding justice slot and one in the Third Department.
Ruling Supports Treble Damages for Deceit Attempts by Lawyers
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tracing the legal principles behind a state statute on lawyer deceit to a law adopted by the English Parliament in 1275, the Court of Appeals has determined that an attorney can be subject to treble damages in New York for an unsuccessful attempt to deceive a court.
Free: Senate Confirms Lippman as Chief Judge
Friday, February 13, 2009
Confronting concerns about the process that led to his nomination to the state's highest judicial office, Jonathan Lippman, on Wednesday, promised state senators who confirmed him that he would make expanding diversity in the judiciary one of his principal goals. "We all have to work together on this issue and recognize why it's important, that the courts reflect the great diversity of this state," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to his confirmation as chief judge by the full Senate. "A diverse judiciary is essential."
Bankruptcy Threatens Award to Abused Child
Thursday, February 5, 2009
A woman convicted of endangering the welfare of her sexually abused daughter, who won a civil award of nearly $4 million against her mother in 2007, does not necessarily forfeit the right to discharge the debt through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding, Northern District Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Littlefield Jr. has ruled.
Standard for Use of Force Ruled Same for Court Officers as Police
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Finding New York case law "unsettled" about precisely when arrest ends and pretrial detention begins, Court of Claims Judge Christopher J. McCarthy has held that the standard for proper behavior by court officers toward defendants is the Fourth Amendment's standard of objective reasonableness, the same one the Second Circuit recognized for police officers when they arrest and detain defendants.
Free: Lippman Is Pick for Chief Judge
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Jonathan Lippman, the seasoned administrative judge who has been presiding justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, since 2007, was tapped yesterday by Governor David A. Paterson to become the state's next chief judge, said several sources who had been informed of the choice. Mr. Paterson told Justice Lippman yesterday afternoon that the governor would send the presiding justice's name to the state Senate for confirmation, sources said. The governor plans to formally introduce Justice Lippman as his choice at a Capitol news conference today.
Free With Registration: Total of Confined Sex Offenders Falls Short of Initial Projections
Monday, January 12, 2009
A controversial 21-month-old program that confines dangerous sex offenders in mental hospitals after their prison terms end is affecting far fewer offenders than its backers initially projected. Through November, 63 former inmates had been sent to secure mental health facilities, compared with the approximately 175 then-Governor Eliot Spitzer had estimated would be civilly committed. Reflecting the less-than-anticipated demand on state resources from the program, Governor David A. Paterson's proposed 2009-10 budget funds 217 fewer mental health positions at the Office of Mental Health and 28 fewer prison jobs.
