CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Court of Appeals Applies Civil Rights Law § 50-a Repeal Retroactively Finds Legislative Intent and Remedial Nature of Repeal Legislation Supporting Such a Conclusion Prior to a 2020 amendment, former Civil Rights Law § 50-a provided, with limited exceptions, that “[a]ll personnel records [of law enforcement officers] used to evaluate performance toward … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Court of Appeals Holds That Punitive Damages Are Not an Available Remedy in a General Business Law § 349 Action Concurrence Believes Majority Embarked on “Gratuitous Ride” By Unnecessarily Addressing an Issue That Neither Party Offered “More Than a Glancing Analysis” In Hobish v. AXA Equit. Life Ins. Co., 2025 N.Y. Slip … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Pesky Preservation Prerequisite Results in Important Issue Being Out of Play Court of Appeals Unable to Resolve Conflict as to Accrual of Prejudgment Interest in Personal Injury Action Arising From Motor Vehicle Accident In Love v. State, 78 N.Y.2d 540 (1991), the Court of Appeals ruled that, in a bifurcated personal injury … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS New Jersey Transit, a State-Created Entity, Is Not Entitled to Sovereign Immunity Defense Majority of Court of Appeals Asks Whether Subjecting NJT to Suit in New York Would Offend New Jersey’s Sovereign Dignity In Franchise Tax Bd. of Cal. v. Hyatt, 587 U.S. 230 (2019) (Hyatt III), the U.S. Supreme Court overruled … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Plaintiffs Tenured Teachers Placed on Leave Without Pay for Failure to Follow Vaccine Mandate Not Entitled to Statutory Hearings Hearings Not Warranted When Employment Eligibility Conditions Are Enforced, As Opposed to Those Facing Disciplinary Proceedings In Matter of O’Reilly v. Board of Educ. of the City Sch. Dist. of the City of … Continued

THE CPLR AND THE UNIFORM RULES The Complicated Nature of New York State’s Procedural Law We have discussed in the past the complicated nature of the various sources of procedure in New York State. While the CPLR occupies a significant portion of the arena, it shares its applicability with other statutes (e.g., Estates Powers and … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Relation-Back Doctrine Applied Even Where Original Co-Defendant Was No Longer Party When Plaintiffs Sought to Add New Defendant “United in Interest” Second Department Cautions That Its Ruling Was Not Meant to Imply that It Was Somehow Changing Existing Law We have previously discussed the relation-back doctrine involving parties “united in interest.” Thus, … Continued

A LOOK BACK … AND A LOOK FORWARD With the Court of Appeals on summer hiatus, it seems like a good time to look back at the past year in the Digest, to review some of the significant developments and to discuss their impact and future issues Consent Jurisdiction and General Jurisdiction We reported on … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Agreement Waiving Benefit of Rent Stabilization Laws Is Void as Against Public Policy Regardless of Tenant’s Status Stipulation Here Was Void Because It Purported to Waive the Tenant’s Right to File Fair Market Rent Appeal In Liggett v. Lew Realty LLC, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 03378 (June 20, 2024), the Court of … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Court of Appeals Clarifies the Internal Affairs Doctrine, Applying the Law of the State of Incorporation in a Choice of Law Analysis Court Also Finds Appellate Division Properly Took Judicial Notice of Foreign-Scots Law Generally, under New York’s choice of law analysis, the courts apply the forum’s law to procedural questions and … Continued