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PETITIONER WAS ENTITLED TO A HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER SHE TOOK ADEQUATE STEPS TO LEARN THE IDENTITY OF THE OWNER AND OPERATOR OF THE CAB IN WHICH SHE WAS A PASSENGER WHEN THE CAB WAS STRUCK BY A HIT AND RUN DRIVER; PETITIONER SOUGHT TO COMMENCE AN ACTION AGAINST THE MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT INDEMNIFICATION CORPORATION (MVAIC) (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the petition to commence an action against the Motor Vehicle Accident Indemnification Corporation (MVAIC) should not have been denied without a hearing. Petitioner was injured when a hit and run driver struck the cab she was riding in. The issue was whether petitioner took adequate steps to learn […]

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THE PETITIONS FOR A PERMISSIVE REFERENDUM ON THE BONDS TO BE ISSUED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN TOWN BUILDINGS WERE NOT REJECTED WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CONTROLLING STATUTES; THEREFORE THE TOWN WAS REQUIRED TO SET UP THE PERMISSIVE REFERENDUM FOR NOVEMBER 2023 (THIRD DEPT). ​

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the Town Clerk did follow the statutory procedure for rejecting the petitions for a permissive referendum on bonds to be issued to fund the construction of certain Town road-maintenance buildings. Therefore the town was obligated to set up the permissive referendum: We need not … decide whether the […]

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THE FACT THAT THE CONTAMINATED AREA WHERE THE NEW CONSTRUCTION WAS TO BE LOCATED HAD BEEN REMEDIATED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION (DEC) WAS NOT ENOUGH TO ENSURE SAFETY WHEN THE SOIL IS DISTURBED FOR CONSTRUCTION; THE SEQRA REVIEW DID NOT TAKE THE REQUISITE HARD LOOK AT THE EFFECTS OF DISTURBING THE SOIL (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, over a two-justice dissent, determined the Plattsburgh Common Council, the lead agency responsible for review of a construction project pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), did not take the requisite hard look at the potential danger associated with disturbing the contaminated soil which had been cleaned up and declared […]

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DEFENSE COUNSEL RAISED A BATSON OBJECTION TO THE STRIKING OF FIVE JURORS; THE JUDGE RESTRICTED THE CHALLENGES TO TWO OF THE FIVE STRUCK IN THE MOST RECENT ROUND OF JURY SELECTION; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing defendant’s conviction and ordering a new trial, determined the trial judge should not have limited the defense Batson objections to the prosecutor’s striking non-white potential jurors. Defense counsel challenged the striking of five jurors but the judge limited the challenges to the two struck in the most recent round of jury […]

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DEFENDANT ALLOWED PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT, 18, TO DRIVE HIS LAMBORGHINI WHILE DEFENDANT WAS A PASSENGER; PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT LOST CONTROL AT 180 MPH, STRUCK A GUARD RAIL, WAS EJECTED AND DIED FROM HIS INJURIES; THERE WAS A QUESTION OF FACT, RAISED BY PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT, WHETHER DEFENDANT HAD SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE WHICH RENDERED PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S USE OF THE CAR UNREASONABLY DANGEROUS; THE NEGLIGENT ENTRUSTMENT CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined negligent entrustment causes of action should not have been dismissed. Defendant owned a high performance car (a Lamborghini) and allowed plaintiff’s decedent, who was 18, to drive it. Plaintiff’s decedent apparently lost control of the car at 180 mph, struck a guard rail, was ejected and died […]

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PETITIONER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO PROVE THE SON ACTUALLY SEXUALLY ABUSED THE DAUGHTER TO MAKE A NEGLECT FINDING BASED UPON MOTHER’S LEAVING THE DAUGHTER UNDER THE SON’S SUPERVISION; THE DAUGHTER’S ALLEGATIONS SHE WAS SEXUALLY ABUSED WERE DEEMED SUFFICIENTLY CORROBORATED BY HER KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SEX AND PORNOGRAPHY; STRONG DISSENT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, over a detailed and comprehensive dissent, determined the neglect petition was supported by the evidence. It was alleged that mother left her young daughter in the care of her 15-year-old son despite concerns about the son’s sexual behavior. Family Court held the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) was required […]

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A PROPOSED LOAN MODIFICATION DID NOT REVOKE THE ACCELERATION OF THE MORTGAGE DEBT BY THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE FORECLOSURE PROCEEDINGS; THEREFORE THE FORECLOSURE ACTION WAS TIME-BARRED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the bank in this foreclosure action had not revoked the acceleration of the mortgage debt and the action was therefore time-barred: … [I]t is undisputed that the mortgage debt was accelerated on February 20, 2008, by the commencement of the 2008 foreclosure action … . Thus, absent an […]

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WHERE A COMPLAINT IS DISMISSED WITHOUT A MOTION ON NOTICE, AN APPEAL IS NOT AVAILABLE BUT A MOTION TO VACATE THE DISMISSAL IS APPROPRIATE; THE BANK IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SOUGHT AN ORDER OF REFERENCE WITHIN ONE YEAR OF THE DEFAULT; THEREFORE THE BANK DID NOT ABANDON THE ACTION (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff bank in this foreclosure action demonstrated it had not abandoned the action by moving for an order of reference within one year of the default judgment. The Second Department noted that where, as here, the dismissal of the complaint was not based upon a motion on notice, […]

PLAINTIFF, AT HER DEPOSITION, COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF HER STAIRWAY SLIP AND FALL; COMPLAINT DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff in this stairway slip and fall, based upon her deposition testimony, could not identify the cause of her fall which required dismissal of the complaint: “… [A] defendant can make its prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by establishing that the […]

LOANING PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT A CAR WITH A BROKEN FUEL GAUGE WAS NOT A PROXIMATE CAUSE OF PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S DEATH; THE CAR RAN OUT OF GAS AND PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT PULLED OVER ONTO THE SHOULDER OF A TWO-LANE ROAD; SHE WAS STRUCK BY A HIT AND RUN DRIVER WHILE PUTTING GAS IN THE CAR WITH A GAS CAN (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the negligence ascribed to the defendant in this fatal traffic-accident case was not a proximate cause of the accident. Defendant allegedly loaned a car with a broken fuel gauge to plaintiff’s decedent. The car ran out of gas on a two-lane highway and plaintiff’s decedent pulled the car […]

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