New York Civil Law

Governor Pataki Appoints Four New Justices to the Appellate Division

Governor Pataki recently named four new Appellate Division Justices: Justice Salvatore R. Martoche to the Fourth Department; Justice Peter B. Skelos -- formerly of Nassau County Supreme Court -- to the Second Department; Judge Steven W. Fisher -- a former Queens Administrative Judge -- to the Second Department; and Justice Robert A. Spolzino -- formerly of the Westchester County Supreme Court -- to the Second Department. Here is a short article about the appointments in New York Lawyer (if you are an electronic subscription to the NYLJ, it has a link to the full article).

Eureka! Labor Law Goldmine Uncovered

While searching through my list of referrers, I stumbled upon this website that contains numerous articles on New York Labor Law sections 200, 240(1), and 241(6) by leading attorneys in New York. Justice Andrew V. Siracuse of the Monroe County Supreme Court has collected these articles on his website. Notably, one of the articles is written by a named partner in the firm where I work, Tom Segalla.

NY Court of Appeals Most Recent Health Insurance Decision Discusses Statutory Interpretation

The New York Court of Appeals' most recent decision addresses a discrete issue concerning setting rates for health insurance. I found the decision more interesting and helpful for the Court's discussion of statutory interpretation.

C.L.A.S.H. Fought the Law, And the Law Won: District Judge Upholds Constitutionality of Smoking Ban

Justice Marrero of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld, in a 83-page decision, smoking bans that NYC and the state enacted last year. NYC C.L.A.S.H.'s constiutional challenges were quite tenuous, especially to the ones invoking the First Amendment and arguing that higher level of scrutiny should be afforded to laws concerning smokers under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Laws based on gender get intermediate scrutiny, but laws for smokers get strict scrutiny? Here are two articles about the case: one in the New York Times and one in Newsday. You can read those articles or sit back with a cigarette and read the 83-page opinion -- just don't do that in a bar or restaurant.

NY Builders Association Forced to Provide Insurance Because of NY Scaffold Law

This press release in the Insurance Journal demonstrates the damage the New York Labor Law (commonly referred to as New York's Scaffold Law) has done to construction business in New York. The NY Builders Association will now provide insurance under the company Reciprocal Liability Insurance Company to fill the gap that other insurers left when they decided not to renew builders' and remodelers' insurance policies. This is the same association who has paid for billboards and radio spots I spoke about in a prior post.

Much Needed Pro-Attorney Radio Spots Debut

The New York State Bar Association launched various radio spots attempting to raise public awareness of the role of attorneys in our society. The radio spots are available on the NYSBA website in mp3 format. This column in Newsday addresses the radio spots, but seems to miss the point.

Court of Appeals Recognizes Tort for Emotional Harm for Miscarriage or Stillborn Birth

The Court of Appeals held last week that a women can commence an action for emotional harm, independent of physical damage, where medical malpractice causes a miscarriage or stillborn birth. Here is an article in the New York Times concerning the case, and one in Newsday.

New Lawsuit Filed Concerning Same-Sex Marriage

Earlier today, 13 couples filed a lawsuit against New York State seeking to declare the statutes that preclude same-sex marriages unconstitutional -- see this article in Newsday. The ACLU and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison, LLP filed the action on behalf of the couples. The ACLU issued this press release and included the complaint on line.

NY Court of Appeals Decides Discrete Issue Involving Businessowner's Liability Policy

Earilier today, the Court of Appeals decided an interesting twist on their prior decision that analyzed how to determine when an occurrence is an "accident" for insurance purposes. The case arose within the context of a declaratory judgment action between an insured and insurer. In the underlying case, the insured was defending against a claim of negligent hiring based on the underlying plaintiffs' allegation that the insured's employer sexually assaulted the plaintiff wife while that employee was giving her a body massage at the insured's spa. The Court analyzed in the declaratory judgment action whether the incident constituted an "accident" and "bodily injury" as defined in the insurance contract.