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PLAINTIFF BANK IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION DID NOT DEMONSTRATE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH THE NOTICE REQUIREMENTS OF RPAPL 1304, AS WELL AS THE NOTICE REQUIRMENTS SPELLED OUT IN THE MORTGAGE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff bank in this foreclosure action did not demonstrate compliance with the notice requirements of RPAPL 1304 and the mortgage: … [P]laintiff failed to establish, prima facie, that RPAPL 1304 notices were mailed to each defendant by certified and first-class mail. The affidavit submitted in support of the […]

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PLAINTIFF SUED HER EMPLOYER IN NEGLIGENCE BASED UPON AN ALLEGED ASSAULT BY A COWORKER; THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER THE INJURY WAS IN THE COURSE OF PLAINTIFF’S EMPLOYMENT; THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD HAS PRIMARY JURISDICTION OVER THE DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LAW; RATHER THAN DISMISSING THE NEGLIGENCE CAUSES OF ACTION, SUPREME COURT SHOULD HAVE REFERRED THE MATTER TO THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BOARD (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the causes of action against plaintiff’s employer for negligence alleging an assault by a coworker should not have been dismissed. Defendants’ alleged that Workers’ Compensation was the plaintiff’s exclusive remedy. The Workers’ Compensation Board has primary jurisdiction over determinations of the applicability of the Workers’ Compensation Law. Because […]

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WHERE THE EMPLOYER OF A PHYSICIAN HAS PAID THE PREMIUMS FOR MEDICAL MALPRACTICE INSURANCE AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY DEMUTUALIZES, ABSENT AN AGREEMENT TO THE CONTRARY, THE PROCEEDS GO TO THE PHYSICIAN, NOT THE EMPLOYER (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court based on a recent Court of Appeals ruling, determined the proceeds from the demutualization of a medical malpractice insurer belong to the physician, not to the physician’s employer (the plaintiff here): The Court of Appeals has recently held that “when an employer pays premiums to a mutual insurance company […]

THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER THE ACCIDENT—THE COLLAPSE OF A DECK—EVER HAPPENED IN THIS LABOR LAW 24O (1) ACTION; SUPREME COURT REVERSED (FOURTH DEPT).

​The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court  in this Labor Law 240(1) action, determined there were questions of fact about whether the accident (the collapse of a deck) ever happened at all: Contrary to plaintiff’s contention and the court’s determination, the assertion of defendant that an accident resulting from a collapse or dislodging of the deck […]

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PETITIONERS SOUGHT FUNDS THE DECEDENT HAD TAKEN OUT OF THE CORPORATION AS CLAIMS ON DECEDENT’S ESTATE, ALLEGING THAT THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS STARTED ANEW WHEN THE DECEDENT ACKNOWELDGED THE DEBT IN A DEPOSITION; THE STATUTE-OF-LIMITATIONS TOLL IN THE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW ONLY APPLIES TO AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE DEBT IN WRITING SIGNED BY THE PARTY TO BE CHARGED, NOT TO THE QUASI-CONTRACT ALLEGED BY PETITIONERS (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Surrogate’s Court, determined decedent’s acknowledgement of a debt in a deposition did not start the statute of limitations anew because there was no written contract to which General Obligations Law 17-101 could apply: In 2011, decedent removed funds from the corporate entity, and he later acknowledged that some of those funds […]

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MOTHER WAS EXPERIENCING COVID-LIKE SYMPTOMS AND THE COURT RULES PROHIBITED HER ENTRY; HER REQUEST FOR AN ADJOURMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Family Court, determined the court abused its discretion in denying mother’s request for an adjournment: … [T]he court abused its discretion in denying her attorney’s request for an adjournment. The mother had not previously requested an adjournment, and there was no indication in the record that an adjournment would have adversely […]

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THE ACCIDENTAL DISCHARGE OF A FIREARM BY PLAINTIFF’S COWORKER DURING A FIREARMS TRAINING SESSION FOR ARMORED-CAR GUARDS WAS WITHIN THE DEFENDANT COWORKER’S SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT; WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IS PLAINTIFF’S EXCLUSIVE REMEDY (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s exclusive remedy in this accidental shooting case was Workers’ Compensation. Plaintiff and defendant coworker were both armored-car guards attending a firearms training course required by their employer when plaintiff was shot. When plaintiff and defendant coworker were seated at a table waiting for the course to begin […]

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THE JUDGE HAD BEEN MADE AWARE A WEEK BEFORE THE HEARING THAT MOTHER’S ATTORNEY WAS NO LONGER REPRESENTING HER; AT THE HEARING MOTHER EXPLAINED SHE HAD COMMUNICATED WITH ANOTHER LAWYER WHO COULD NOT ATTEND THAT DAY; MOTHER ASKED FOR AN ADJOURNMENT; THE JUDGE ABUSED HER DISCRETION IN DENYING THE REQUEST (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Family Court in this custody proceeding, determined mother’s request for an adjournment should have been granted. Mother’s relationship with her attorney had broken down. The attorney had notified the judge a week before and the attorney did not appear for the hearing. At the hearing, mother told the judge she had […]

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ONE OF MOTHER’S CHILDREN OPENED A LOCKED WINDOW, TOOK OUT THE SCREEN AND DROPPED HIS SIBLING TWO STORIES WHILE MOTHER WAS HOME; MOTHER COULD NOT HAVE FORESEEN THE INCIDENT; THE NEGLECT FINDING WAS REVERSED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Family Court, determined the evidence did not support the neglect findings. Although mother knew one of her children was sometimes aggressive, she could not have known he would open a locked window, take out the screen, and drop his sibling two stories. Apparently mother was in the bathroom with the door […]

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ALTHOUGH THE ISSUES WERE NOT RAISED ON APPEAL, THE APPELLATE COURT VACATED THE SENTENCES EITHER BECAUSE THE CONCURRENT SENTENCES WERE ILLEGAL OR BECAUSE THE GUILTY PLEAS WERE INDUCED BY THE PROMISE OF ILLEGAL CONCURRENT SENTENCES (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, raising issues not raised in the appeals, determined the concurrent sentences imposed by the judge had to be vacated because the judge did not put the reasons for the concurrent sentences on the record. All the sentences were vacated because the guilty pleas were induced by a promise of illegal concurrent sentences: […]

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