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

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Entity That Acquires All of Another Entity’s Liabilities and Assets Without a Merger Nevertheless Inherits Acquired Entity’s Status for Purposes of Specific Personal Jurisdiction Court of Appeals Applies Factors Previously Considered in Successor Liability Context In Lelchook v. Société Générale de Banque au Liban SAL, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 02081 (April 18, … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Court of Appeals Finds Lower Courts Abused Discretion in Granting Petitioners Leave to Serve Late Notices of Claim Lower Courts Improperly Concluded That City’s Employees Alleged Participation in Intentional Tort or Its Possession of Records Concerning Underlying Events Provided City With Actual Knowledge of Essential Facts Constituting the Claims Matter of Jaime … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Court of Appeals Holds That Division of Human Rights Rationally Concluded That Threat of Litigation Can Qualify as Required Adverse Action to Support Retaliation Claim But Rules That DHR Improperly Shifted Burden on Whether Activity Was Protected In Matter of Clifton Park Apts., LLC v. New York State Div. of Human Rights, … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Court of Appeals Divides on Whether Directed Verdict Should Have Been Granted on Issue of Ownership of Dam in Negligence and Wrongful Death Action Was Ownership Issue Established as a Matter of Law? In Suzanne P. v. Joint Bd. of Directors of Erie-Wyoming County Soil Conservation Dist., 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 00159 … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS DOCCS Properly Withheld Documents Prepared by Counsel for the Parole Board in Response to FOIL Request Court of Appeals Holds There to Be No Per Se Rule That Training Materials Cannot Be Protected In Appellate Advocs. v. N.Y. State Dep’t of Corr. & Cmty. Supervision, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 06466 (Dec. 19, … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS On Certified Question, New York State Court of Appeals Rules That Assignment Was Ineffective Because of Failure to Provide Notice to the Insurer Thus, Trust-Assignee Had No Contractual Standing to Sue the Insurer In Brettler v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 05958 (Nov. 20, 2023), the … Continued

CPLR AMENDMENT Amendment to CPLR 2106 Permits Any Person to Submit Affirmation Eases Burden in Obtaining Statements, Particularly From Witnesses Located Outside of the State Obtaining witness statements can be cumbersome and difficult at times, especially where the witness is located outside of the state but in the United States. Specifically, a certificate of conformity … Continued

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS Second Department Affirms Denial of Defendants’ Motion to Compel Production of Arons’ Authorization to Conduct Interview on Causation Court Refuses to Extend Arons Ruling In Arons v. Jutkowitz, 9 N.Y.3d 393, 409 (2007), the Court of Appeals considered the privacy issues raised by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), holding … Continued