The pandemic-related restrictions on in-person litigation and jury trials as well as evacuation from our law offices for months has disrupted litigators’ routines. For some, this includes slowing the flow of information about court decisions normally useful to the practitioner. In an attempt to alert readers who might have missed them, this article briefly reports about two Appellate Division decisions dealing with expert testimony and other issues.

In Mercedes v. 248 JD Food, 2020 NY Slip Op 03592 (1st Dep’t,June 25, 2020), the plaintiff, a butcher in a supermarket, was injured when he was cleaning meat out of the hopper of a mixer-grinder. The machine turned on causing the mixing paddles to rotate injuring the worker. He claimed a design defect caused the mishap. The defendant, however, successfully moved for summary judgment that was granted by the Bronx Supreme Court. The Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed because the defendant submitted cogent evidence that it was not liable.