The Court of Appeals construed the ambit of multiple New York State statutes and a section of the New York City Administrative Code in the torts arena during its 2019-2020 term. In Colon v. Martin, 35 N.Y.3d 75 (2020), the court applied its customary method of statutory construction to General Municipal Law Section 50-h to determine whether a claimant has a right to observe a co-claimant’s testimony at a 50-h hearing.

Employing a similar method, the court in Xiang Fu He v. Troon Management, Inc., 34 N.Y.3d 167 (2019), considered whether New York City’s Sidewalk Law precludes a property owner in New York City from availing itself of the common law out-of-possession landlord exception to shift liability to a tenant.