You are here: / First Department

Tag Archive for: First Department

, ,

WHERE FRAUD IS THE BASIS OF A CLAIM FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY, THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IS SIX YEARS (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department determined that where the basis of a claim for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty is fraud, the statute of limitations is six years:

[Defendant] Katten contends that even if the claim for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty is taken at face value, the statute of limitations is three years because plaintiff seeks damages, not equitable relief … . However, “a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty based on allegations of actual fraud is subject to a six-year limitations period” … . Plaintiff’s claim against defendant Albert Hallac for breach of fiduciary duty is based on allegations of actual fraud; hence, the statute of limitations for the claim against Katten for aiding and abetting Hallac’s breach of fiduciary duty is six years. Wimbledon Fin. Master Fund, Ltd. v Hallac, 2021 NY Slip Op 01881, First Dept 3-25-21

 

,

PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS PEDESTRIAN-VEHICLE ACCIDENT CASE WAS PREMATURE; PLAINTIFF HAD NOT YET BEEN DEPOSED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in this pedestrian-vehicle accident case was premature because plaintiff had not been deposed:

Plaintiff alleges that after crossing Pearl Street at the intersection with Whitehall Street he was struck from behind by defendants’ box truck, while he was on the curb/lip of the sidewalk. According to the affidavit of the driver, defendant Rosado, plaintiff was distracted by talking on a cell phone, and walked into the side of the truck while it was already making a right turn.

While plaintiff was not required to demonstrate the absence of comparative negligence on his part, his motion was premature in that defendants did not have the opportunity to depose him … . Bey v Rosado, 2021 NY Slip Op 01840, First Dept 3-25-21

 

,

PLAINTIFF DID NOT DEMONSTRATE DEFENDANT ACCOUNTANT DEPARTED FROM THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARD FOR TAX PREPARATION SERVICES (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff did not demonstrate defendant accountant departed from the professional standard for tax preparation:

“A party alleging a claim of accountant malpractice must show that there was a departure from the accepted standards of practice” … . Plaintiff does not identify any applicable professional standard which would have required defendants to inquire whether the transactions at issue were approved in accordance with the procedures contained in the operating agreement. To the contrary, the standards proffered by plaintiff’s expert permit an accountant engaged for tax preparation services to rely on information furnished by the taxpayer unless it appears to be incorrect, incomplete or inconsistent. There is no allegation here that the information provided to defendants was incorrect, incomplete or inconsistent. Deane v Brodman, 2021 NY Slip Op 01842, First Dept 3-25-21

 

, , , , ,

THE COMMERCIAL LEASE GUARANTEE MET THE DEFINITION OF AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE PAYMENT OF MONEY; THE COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS ON ENFORCEMENT OF COMMERCIAL LEASE GUARANTEES DO NOT APPLY; THE WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY DEFENSE IS NOT AVAILABLE (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined: (1) although guarantees generally are not instruments for the payment of money within the meaning of CPLR 3213, the language of the guarantee was unconditional and therefore met the criteria of such an instrument; (2) the COVID-19-related provision of the NYC Administrative Code and executive orders, prohibiting enforcement of commercial lease guarantees, do not apply where the business were not required to cease operations; (3) the warranty of habitability was not available as a defense because of the language of the guarantee; and (4) a commercial tenant cannot assert the warranty of habitability:

While a guarantee of both payment and performance does not qualify as an instrument for the payment of money only under CPLR 3213 … , paragraph 1 of the guaranty signed by defendants includes an unconditional obligation to pay all rent and additional rent owed under the sublease, and therefore does so qualify … ; “it required no additional performance by plaintiff[] as a condition precedent to payment or otherwise made defendant[s’] promise to pay something other than unconditional” … .

While the prohibition on the enforcement of commercial lease guaranties against natural persons under Administrative Code of City of NY § 22-1005 applies to businesses that were required to “cease operation” or “close to members of the public” under executive orders 202.3, 202.6, or 202.7, issued in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, defendants never asserted that the nonparty subtenant ceased operations or closed to the public as a result of those orders.

Defendants’ claim that they properly raised warranty of habitability defenses under the sublease is without merit. Such defenses are not available to defendants because all defenses under the guaranty, with the exception of prior payment, were waived. Moreover, a commercial tenant cannot avail itself of the statutory warranty of habitability (see Real Property Law § 235-b …). iPayment, Inc. v Silverman, 2021 NY Slip Op 01846, First Dept 3-25-21

 

,

FAILURE TO SHOW UP FOR AN INDEPENDENT MEDICAL EXAMINATION (IME) IS A “POLICY ISSUE” WARRANTING DENIAL OF NO-FAULT BENEFITS AND THE AWARD OF ATTORNEY’S FEES TO PLAINTIFF (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing the Appellate Term and disagreeing with other courts, determined the failure to show up for an independent medical exam (IME) is a “policy issue” warranting the denial of no-fault benefits and the award of attorney’s fees to plaintiff:

… [A]n insurer who denies a claim for first-party No-Fault benefits on the basis of the injured person’s failure to attend an IME properly does so by checking box 4 on the denial of claim form, and therefore an injured person’s failure to attend an IME is a “policy issue” both according to the denial of claim form and for purposes of awarding attorneys’ fees under 11 NYCRR 65-4.6(c). Kamara Supplies v GEICO Gen. Ins. Co., 2021 NY Slip Op 01848, First Dept 3-25-21

 

,

THE COMPLAINT STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST PORT AUTHORITY FOR FAILING TO INSTALL FENCING TO PREVENT PLAINTIFFS’ DECEDENTS FROM COMMITTING SUICIDE BY JUMPING FROM THE GEORGE WASHINGTON BRIDGE (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Webber, determined the complaint alleging defendant Port Authority was negligent in failing to install fencing to prevent plaintiffs’ decedents from jumping from the George Washington Bridge (GWB) to commit suicide should not have been dismissed:

… [P]laintiffs allege that the GWB was unreasonably dangerous because the low four-foot railing on the south walkway facilitated suicides and that the Port Authority had long been aware that the bridge had become a “suicide magnet” based upon hundreds of deaths that had occurred at the bridge over the decades preceding these cases. The complaints allege that suicide attempts at the GWB have occurred at the rate of approximately 1 every 3 1/2 days, and that about 93 deaths occurred from 2009 up to 2016. The complaints assert that the Port Authority, as the owner of the GWB, “owed a duty to the public,” including to “protect the public from foreseeable harm,” “take reasonable steps to protect public safety,” “take reasonable steps to prevent suicide,” “not increase the risk of suicide by inaction,” and “protect human life.” Additionally, plaintiffs allege that the Port Authority “failed to exercise reasonable care in constructing, operating, and maintaining the [GWB]” and were negligent “in falling to provide for the safety and protection for vulnerable or impulsive individuals.” …

Viewing the allegations of the complaint in the light most favorable to plaintiff, we find that plaintiffs have set forth sufficient facts which, if true, show that the Port Authority, as owner of the GWB, was acting in a proprietary capacity in the design and maintenance of the bridge, and, therefore was subject to suit under the ordinary rules of negligence applicable to nongovernmental parties. …

We find that the complaints sufficiently allege that the low railing of the bridge, and Port Authority’s awareness of the frequent suicide attempts on the bridge over previous decades, give rise to a duty to install fencing to protect against foreseeable harm to withstand a motion to dismiss … . Feldman v Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 2021 NY Slip Op 01719, First Dept 3-23-21

 

PLAINTIFF ALLEGED HE STUMBLED WHEN HIS FOOT HIT ROLLED UP CARPETS AND THEN HE TRIPPED ON A RAISED SIDEWALK FLAG IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE; DEFENDANT DEMONSTRATED IT DID NOT HAVE NOTICE OF THE CARPETS, BUT THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT DEFENDANT’S NOTICE OF THE RAISED FLAG AND WHETHER THE FLAG WAS TRIVIAL; THE COURT NOTED THERE CAN BE MORE THAN ONE PROXIMATE CAUSE (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant in this slip and fall case did not eliminate issues of fact re: notice and nature of the raised sidewalk flag. There were rolled up carpets on the sidewalk, of which defendant had no notice. Plaintiff alleged he stumbled when his foot hit the carpet and then he tripped on the raised flag. The court noted there can be more than one proximate cause of an accident:

… [T]here are issues of fact as to whether defendant had constructive notice of the sidewalk defect, whether the defect was trivial, and whether it proximately caused plaintiff’s fall. Defendant failed to offer specific evidence as to when the sidewalk was last inspected, relying only on vague testimony concerning the manager’s occasional visits to the shopping center … . Plaintiff’s submission of photographs depicting the height differential in the raised sidewalk flag to be about one inch also raised an issue of fact as to whether the defect was nontrivial … . While plaintiff testified that he first tripped on the rolled-up carpets before coming into contact with the sidewalk defect, “there can be more than one proximate cause of an accident” … . Abraham v Dutch Broadway Assoc. L.L.C., 2021 NY Slip Op 01711, First Dept 3-23-21

 

ON A COLD DAY DEFENDANTS HOSED DOWN THE SIDEWALK WHERE PLAINTIFF SLIPPED AND FELL ON ICE; ANY COMPARATIVE NEGLIGENCE ON PLAINTIFF’S PART IS NOT A BAR TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court and recalling and vacating a decision in the same matter dated December 17, 2020, determined defendants’ motion for summary judgment in this slip and fall case should not have been granted. Defendant restaurants hosed down the sidewalk where plaintiff, an EMT responding to a call, slipped and fell on ice. Any comparative negligence on plaintiff’s part is not a bar to summary judgment:

To obtain partial summary judgment, a plaintiff does not have to demonstrate the absence of his own comparative fault … . Moreover, plaintiff is not required to show that “defendants’ negligence was the sole proximate cause of the accident to be entitled to summary judgment” … . The evidence plaintiff submitted in support of his motion shows that defendants-tenants … created the dangerous condition when their employees hosed the sidewalk on a cold winter day … . Defendants-owners Concord Partners 46th Street LLC (Concord) and Elo Equity, LLC, had a non delegable duty to maintain the sidewalk. Elo had notice that the restaurant employees had created a dangerous condition, because Elo’s superintendent had observed the restaurants’ employees hosing the sidewalk. The property manager for Concord did not personally observe the restaurant employees hosing down the sidewalk on the date in question; however, he testified that it was the general practice to hose down the sidewalk at approximately 7:30 a.m.

In opposition, defendants did not raise a question of fact with respect to the issue of their liability. Defendant restaurants admit that the evidence shows that their employees hosed the sidewalk with water before the incident occurred. Furthermore, defendants’ argument that there are triable issues of fact on the basis that plaintiff should have sought an alternative route to safely care for the patient relates to the issue of comparative negligence and, therefore, does not preclude summary resolution of the issue of their liability … . Benny v Concord Partners 46th St. LLC, 2021 NY Slip Op 01550, First Dept 3-18-21

 

,

THE REQUEST TO POLL THE JURY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED; THE JUDGE SHOULD NOT HAVE DISCHARGED THE JURY FOREMAN FOR ARGUING WITH ONE OR MORE JURORS WITHOUT INTERVIEWING ALL INVOLVED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, ordering a new trial in this personal injury action, determined the trial judge should not have denied plaintiff’s request to poll the jury and the jury foreman should not have been discharged for arguing with one or more jurors without interviewing all involved:

It is fundamental error to deny a party’s request to poll the jury … . Defendants’ argument that the issue was not preserved for appeal is unavailing, as plaintiff’s counsel clearly requested that the jury be fully polled … . …

It was also reversible error for the court to discharge the jury foreman, who was alleged to have been in a verbal altercations with another juror during deliberations, without interviewing the jury foreman and the other involved juror or jurors to determine the nature and extent of the disagreement … . That jurors have heated exchanges, does not, without more, form a valid basis for substitution of a juror without the consent of the parties … . Garcia v Rosario, 2021 NY Slip Op 01555, First Dept 3-18-21

 

, , ,

CPLR 7515, ENACTED IN 2018, DOES NOT APPLY RETROACTIVELY TO PROHIBIT MANDATORY ARBITRATION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined CPLR 7515, enacted in 2018, should not be applied retroactively to prohibit arbitration of a sexual harassment claim:

The provisions of CPLR 7515 relied on by plaintiff are not retroactively applicable to arbitration agreements, like the one at issue, that were entered into preceding the enactment of the law in 2018, so that plaintiff’s argument that this law prohibits arbitration of her claims is unavailing … . Newton v LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 01558, First Dept 3-18-21

 

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy