Words matter. Regardless of what aspect of the law you are dealing with, whether as an attorney or a judge, the inclusion or omission a word or phrase, or its definitional interpretation, can determine the outcome of a case. As writers (or wordsmiths) of motions, briefs, decisions, etc., we are often called upon to decipher the “legislative intent” of a statute or what the parties meant in a contract and the like. Here are just three examples covering three distinct areas of the law: Personal Injury, criminal law and landlord and tenant law.
Personal Injury
Recently, in Corning v. Elms Realty, NYLJ, 1/6/20, the plaintiff sought recovery for his on the job injuries pursuant to, inter alia, Labor Law §240(1), commonly referred to as the “Scaffold Law.” See Heymann, New York’s Scaffold Law and the Evolution of Elevation, NYS Bar Journal, January 2013, Vol. 85, No. 1.
