CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Third-Party Beneficiary Breach of Contract Prevailing Wage Claims Available Even if Contracts Do Not Explicitly Acknowledge Right In Addition, Agreement to Shorten Limitation Period Unenforceable In Walton v. Comfort Sys. USA (Syracuse), Inc., 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 03911 (June 23, 2026), the New York State Court of Appeals was tasked to answer … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Majority of Court of Appeals Holds Industrial Code Provision Is Not Sufficiently Specific to Serve as Basis for Vicarious Liability Provision Here Provides a “Broad, Nonspecific Regulatory Standard” The issue in Mann v. Mezuyon, LLC, 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 03257 (May 26, 2026), was whether Industrial Code § 23-4.2(k) (12 N.Y.C.R.R. § … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Majority of Court of Appeals Holds That Recently Amended Workers’ Compensation Law § 24 Does Not Authorize Board to Approve Legal Fees on Late Payment Penalties Dissent Concludes Otherwise Based on the Same Statutory Language In Matter of Gonzalez v. Northeast Parent & Child Socy., 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 01443 (March 17, … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Majority of Court of Appeals Finds Critical Videos Showing Sexual Abuse of Child Not Properly Authenticated Dissenting Opinions Warn of Dire Consequences of Majority Opinion Matter of M.S. (M.H.), 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 00825 (Feb. 17, 2026) was a particularly contentious narrowly split decision out of the Court of Appeals dealing with … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Apparent First New York State Appellate Award of Sanctions for Improper Use of Artificial Intelligence Defendant Repeatedly Cited To Nonexistent Cases Even After Being Placed on Notice of the Issue There has been much discussion of the benefits and dangers associated with the use of artificial intelligence and specifically how it impacts … Continued

PROPOSED LEGISLATION Governor Again Vetoes Newest Registration Consent Jurisdiction Amendment Limiting Class of Plaintiffs Who Could Sue an Authorized Foreign Corporation Not Enough to Avoid Veto As we noted in the September 2025 Law Digest, two prior amendments conditioning a foreign corporation’s filing for authority to do business in New York on consent to general … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Claimant’s Death Benefits Claim Arising Out of Death of Volunteer-Spouse at World Trade Center Site Held to Be Untimely Possible Extension of Time Available Only to “Volunteer,” Not Claimant-Spouse In Matter of Garcia v. WTC Volunteer, 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 06360 (Nov. 20, 2025), the decedent, the claimant’s spouse, had volunteered at the … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Majority of Court of Appeals Refuses to Overturn Precedent Limiting Recovery for Damages for Purely Emotional Harm for Prenatal Injuries Dissent Believes Stare Decisis Should Not Stand in the Way of Bringing State’s Common Law “in Accord with Justice” In Sheppard-Mobley v. King, 4 N.Y.3d 627 (2005), the Court of Appeals held … Continued