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Question of Fact Whether Plaintiff Was Fraudulently Induced to Sign a Release—Relevant Law Explained

The Second Department determined plaintiff raised a triable issue of fact concerning whether plaintiff was fraudulently induced to sign a release re: a potential personal-injury action. The release was signed three days after the accident when the plaintiff was still on pain medication and it was alleged the insurance adjuster told her the offered funds were for plaintiff’s “inconvenience” and not to compensate for her injuries.  The court explained relevant law:

” A release is a contract, and its construction is governed by contract law'” … . “Generally, a valid release that is clear and unambiguous on its face constitutes a complete bar to an action on a claim which is the subject of the release absent fraudulent inducement, fraudulent concealment, misrepresentation, mutual mistake or duress'” … .

“A signed release shifts the burden of going forward . . . to the [plaintiff] to show that there has been fraud, duress or some other fact which will be sufficient to void the release'” … . “A plaintiff seeking to invalidate a release due to fraudulent inducement must establish the basic elements of fraud, namely a representation of a material fact, the falsity of that representation, knowledge by the party who made the representation that it was false when made, justifiable reliance by the plaintiff, and resulting injury'” … . Moreover, there is a requirement that a release covering both known and unknown injuries be ” fairly and knowingly made'” … . Powell v Adler, 2015 NY Slip Op 04466, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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Promissory Note Reflecting a Loan to a Limited Liability Company Was Criminally Usurious As Well As Void Under the General Obligations Law—Provision Purporting to Reduce the Interest Rate to a Non-Usurious Rate If the Original Rate Were Found to be Usurious Did Not Save the Note

The Second Department determined a promissory note imposing an annual interest rate of more than 25% (60% here) was criminally usurious (Penal Law 190.40) and could not be saved by a provision purporting to reduce the interest rate to a non-usurious rate if the original rate were found to be usurious. The court noted that, although a limited liability company (the defendant here) cannot assert the defense of civil usury, a limited liability company can assert the defense of criminal usury.  In addition, the note was void under General Obligations Law 5-511 because the interest rate exceeded 16%. Fred Schutzman Co. v Park Slope Advanced Med., PLLC, 2015 NY Slip Op 04447, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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Application for Area Variances Properly Denied—Court’s Review Criteria Explained—General City Law and Town Law Criteria for Area Variance Explained

The Second Department determined the city zoning board properly denied the application for area variances.  The court explained its role in reviewing the board’s determination and the criteria applied to applications for area variances under the General City Law and the Town Law:

” Local zoning boards have broad discretion in considering applications for variances, and judicial review is limited to determining whether the action taken by the board was illegal, arbitrary, or an abuse of discretion'” … . “Therefore, a zoning board’s determination should be sustained if it is not illegal, has a rational basis, and is not arbitrary and capricious” … .

In determining whether to grant an application for an area variance, a zoning board must engage in a balancing test weighing “the benefit to the applicant if the variance is granted . . . against the detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community by such grant” (General City Law § 81-b[4][b];… see also Town Law § 267-b[3]). The zoning board must also consider: “(i) whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance; (ii) whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance; (iii) whether the requested area variance is substantial; (iv) whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and (v) whether the alleged difficulty was self-created, which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the board of appeals, but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance” (General City Law § 81-b[4][b]…). Matter of Goodman v City of Long Beach, 2015 NY Slip Op 04484, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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Application for Area Variance Properly Denied—Analytical Criteria Described

The Second Department determined the village zoning board properly denied petitioner’s application for an area variance by considering all of the required factors enumerated in Village Law 7-712-b(3): “When determining whether to grant an application for an area variance, a Village zoning board of appeals, pursuant to Village Law § 7-712-b(3), must engage in a balancing test weighing the benefit to the applicant against the detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood or community if the variance is granted” … . A Village board of zoning appeals must also consider “whether (1) an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood, or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of the area variance, (2) the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some other method, other than an area variance, feasible for the applicant to pursue, (3) the required area variance is substantial, (4) the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district, and (5) the alleged difficulty was self created” … . Matter of Affordable Homes of Long Is., LLC v Monteverde, 2015 NY Slip Op 04480, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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Conclusory Affidavit Insufficient to Meet Burden of Demonstrating Documents Were Privileged Because the Documents Were Prepared Solely In Anticipation of Litigation—Motion for a Protective Order Limiting Discovery Properly Denied

The Second Department determined the appellants were not entitled to a protective order precluding discovery of documents pursuant to CPLR 3103.  The appellants argued the documents were privileged because they were prepared in anticipation of litigation.  However, the conclusory attorney affidavit offered in support of the protective order did not meet the appellants’ burden to demonstrate the specific documents sought were “prepared solely in anticipation of litigation or trial…”:

CPLR 3101(a) mandates “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action.” Unlimited disclosure is not mandated, however, and a court may issue a protective order pursuant to CPLR 3103 denying, limiting, conditioning or regulating the use of any disclosure device “to prevent unreasonable annoyance, expense, embarrassment, disadvantage, or other prejudice to any person or the courts” (CPLR 3103[a]…). “The supervision of disclosure and the setting of reasonable terms and conditions therefor rests within the sound discretion of the trial court and, absent an improvident exercise of that discretion, its determination will not be disturbed” … .

In support of that branch of their motion which was pursuant to CPLR 3103 for a protective order preventing the disclosure of certain witness statements and certain investigation and inspection reports, the appellants contended that such evidence was privileged as it was prepared in anticipation of litigation (see CPLR 3101[d][2]). “The burden of proving that a statement is privileged as material prepared solely in anticipation of litigation or trial is on the party opposing discovery” … . Such burden is met “by identifying the particular material with respect to which the privilege is asserted and establishing with specificity that the material was prepared exclusively in anticipation of litigation” … .

Here, the appellants failed to meet their burden of establishing that the requested material was prepared solely in anticipation of litigation and, therefore, is protected from disclosure by the qualified immunity privilege of CPLR 3101(d)(2). An attorney’s affirmation containing conclusory assertions that requested materials are conditionally immune from disclosure pursuant to CPLR 3101(d)(2) as material prepared in anticipation of litigation, without more, is insufficient to sustain a party’s burden of demonstrating that the materials were prepared exclusively for litigation … . Ligoure v City of New York, 2015 NY Slip Op 04456, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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“Conclusory” Affidavit Submitted In Support of Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Cause of Action Did Not Demonstrate the Allegation Defendants Were Directly Liable for Negligent Maintenance of a Taxi Cab Was “Not a Fact At All”—Analytical Criteria Explained

The Second Department determined plaintiff’s complaint should not have been dismissed in its entirety because the documentary evidence submitted in support of the motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action (CPLR 3211(a)(7)) did not demonstrate the facts alleged (which could support defendants’ direct liability for negligent maintenance of a taxi cab) “were not facts at all.” Plaintiff was injured when his motorcycle struck a tire which had come off defendants’ taxi cab. Although the information in the affidavit submitted by a defendant was sufficient to warrant the dismissal of causes of action which relied on piercing the corporate veil, the information did not demonstrate defendants could not be directly liable for negligent maintenance of the cab. The related causes of action should not have been dismissed.  The Second Department explained the analytical criteria to be applied when documentary evidence is submitted in support of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action:

“In considering a motion to dismiss pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7), the court should accept the facts as alleged in the complaint as true, accord plaintiffs the benefit of every possible favorable inference, and determine only whether the facts as alleged fit within any cognizable legal theory” … . Where evidentiary material is submitted and considered on a motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(7), and the motion is not converted into one for summary judgment, “the question becomes whether the plaintiff has a cause of action, not whether the plaintiff has stated one, and unless it has been shown that a material fact claimed by the plaintiff to be one is not a fact at all, and unless it can be said that no significant dispute exists regarding it, dismissal should not eventuate” … .

Here, [defendant’s] affidavit falls short of establishing, conclusively, that [plaintiff] has no cause of action. The affidavit completely fails to address [plaintiff’s] allegation that the subject taxi was not “roadworthy.” The affidavit, while offering conclusory statements, did not supply competent evidence as to which of the various defendants, if any, might have had a duty to maintain, or might in fact have maintained, the offending taxi prior to the accident. Indeed, [defendant’s] conclusory statements are completely unsupported with evidence or specific factual references … and, hence, are of no probative force … . Rathje v Tomitz, 2015 NY Slip Op 04467, 2nd Dept, 5-27-15

 

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“Preamble” Read to Defendant Before the Miranda Warnings Neutralized the Effect of the Warnings—Defendant’s Statement Should Have Been Suppressed

The Second Department determined defendant’s suppression motion should have been granted because the “preamble” read to him before he waived his right to remain silent neutralized the effect of the Miranda warnings. “Before the defendant was read his Miranda rights, the detective investigator said to him (1) “if you agree to speak with us, you may, if you wish, explain what you did and what occurred at that date, time, and place,” (2) “[i]f . . . you have an alibi . . . and you want to tell us where you were, we will ask that you please give us as much information as you can, including the names of any people you were with,” and (3) “[i]f you agree to speak to us and your version of the events of that day differs from what we have heard, you may, if you so choose, tell us your story.” Thus, a clear implication was conveyed to the defendant that he ought to speak to the detective investigator and the assistant district attorney present at the interview in order to set forth his version of events so that they could be investigated. As such, the preamble here … rendered the subsequent Miranda warnings inadequate and ineffective in advising the defendant of his rights …”. People v Rivera, 2015 NY Slip Op 04517, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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Juvenile Delinquency Adjudication Should Not Have Been Considered in SORA Risk Assessment—Criteria for an Upward Departure Explained

The Second Department determined defendant’s juvenile delinquency adjudication should not have been considered in determining the defendant’s risk level. The court explained the proper procedure for considering an upward departure: … “[T]he County Court upwardly departed without following the required three analytical steps of determining, first, whether an aggravating factor exists as a matter of law, second, whether the People have adduced clear and convincing evidence of the facts in support of that aggravating factor, and third, whether, in the court’s discretion, the totality of the circumstances warrant the upward departure to avoid an under-assessment of the defendant’s dangerousness and risk of sexual recidivism …”. People v Ruland,  2015 NY Slip Op 04464, 2nd Dept 5-27-15

 

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The Agency’s Determination Was Based Upon Its Own Precedents and Related Jurisprudence and Was Therefore “Rationally Based”—The Determination Should Not, Therefore, Be Disturbed by a Court—A Court May Not Substitute Its Own Judgment for that of the Agency

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Acosta, reversed Supreme Court’s denial of a motion to dismiss a petition to annul an agency-determination. The underlying proceedings involved two nurses accused of submitting false time sheets. In seeking a hearing allowed by the collective bargaining agreement, the union, on behalf of the nurses, requested certain documents relevant to the allegations from the New York City Human Resources Administration (HRA). HRA refused to turn over the documents, arguing that such “discovery” is not allowed in disciplinary actions (by the relevant regulations). The Board (of Collective Bargaining) ultimately ruled that some, but not all, of the requested documents (those kept in the regular course of business) should be turned over. HRA filed an Article 78 petition seeking to annul the Board’s determination. Supreme Court denied the union’s motion to dismiss the petition.  The 1st Department held the petition should have been dismissed. In reviewing an agency determination, the court looks only at whether the determination is rationally based. Here the Board’s determination was based upon its own precedents and related jurisprudence. Therefore, the determination must stand.  A court cannot substitute its own judgment for that of the agency:

“In reviewing an administrative agency determination, courts must ascertain whether there is a rational basis for the action in question or whether it is arbitrary and capricious” … . “A court cannot simply substitute its judgment for that of an administrative agency when the agency’s determination is reasonable” … . Moreover, “[i]t is well settled that the construction given statutes and regulations by the agency responsible for their administration, if not irrational or unreasonable, should be upheld” … . “Broad deference must therefore be accorded determinations of the Board, which … is the body charged with interpreting and implementing the [regulations] and determining the rights and duties of labor and management in New York City” … .

Given this deferential standard of review, we are compelled to hold that the petition should have been dismissed. The Board’s decision had a rational basis and was not arbitrary and capricious. To be sure, the Board engaged in a relatively expansive interpretation of the duty to furnish information embodied in [the regulations], when it determined that the duty applies in the context of these disciplinary proceedings instituted pursuant to the Agreement. But its interpretation was based on the holdings of some nine prior decisions and was not irrational … . The Board based its decision on its own precedents and related jurisprudence, and its interpretation of the [regulations], a statutory provision within its purview and expertise, was sufficiently reasonable to preclude our “substitut[ing] another interpretation” … . Matter of City of New York v New York State Nurses Assn., 2015 NY Slip Op 04437, 1st Dept 5-26-15

 

 

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Medical Examiner’s Testimony Did Not Rule Out the Possibility that Someone Other than the Defendant Contributed DNA to a Mixture from At Least Three Persons—Conviction Reversed as Against the Weight of the Evidence

The First Department, over a dissent, determined that defendant’s conviction of criminal possession of a weapon was against the weight of the evidence. The medical examiner testified there was a mixture of DNA from at least three persons found on the weapon and defendant “could” have been a contributor to that mixture. “In other words, the medical examiner could not rule out the reasonable possibility that another unrelated individual could match the DNA profile.”  The court explained its role in a “weight of the evidence,” as opposed to a “legal insufficiency,” analysis:

On this appeal, defendant does not ask us to reverse his convictions of criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degrees on the ground that the trial evidence was legally insufficient to support such convictions. Instead, defendant argues that his convictions should be reversed because the jury’s verdict was against the weight of the evidence. An appellate court weighing the evidence “must, like the trier of fact below, weigh the relative probative force of conflicting testimony and the relative strength of conflicting inferences that may be drawn from the testimony'” … . “If based on all the credible evidence a different finding would not have been unreasonable” and if the “trier of fact has failed to give the evidence the weight it should be accorded, the appellate court may set aside the verdict” … . When an appellate court performs weight of the evidence review, it sits, in effect, as a “thirteenth juror” … .

We agree with defendant that the verdict was against the weight of the evidence … . The evidence failed to connect defendant with a pistol that had been discarded during a shooting incident. People v Graham, 2015 NY Slip Op 04401, 1st Dept 5-26-15

 

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