| Important Appellate Division ruling on insurance claims | The Appellate Division, First Department, has unanimously ruled that an insurer must notify a policyholder as soon as it believes it has grounds to disclaim coverage, even if it is still investigating the policyholder's claim. DiGuglielmo v. Travelers Property and Casualty, 6 AD3d 344. This noteworthy and unanimous decision goes directly against that court's prior rulings on this subject.
MORE>> | January 18, 2012 |
| Supreme Court rules regarding ministerial exception to employment discrimination lawsuits | The Supreme Court of the United States has held that employees who act as “ministers” may not bring employment discrimination suits against their religious institution employers. MORE>> | January 17, 2012 |
| Landlord's Duties of Repair | APPELLATE DIVISION,SECOND DEPARTMENT,New York Law Journal,
September 21, 2011. The Appellate Division, Second Department, has upheld the common law rule that that a landlord is generally not liable to a tenant for dangerous conditions on leased premises unless a duty to repair the premises is imposed by statute, regulation, or by contract. In the case of Alnashmi v. Certified Analytical Group Inc., the court held that, because the lease at issue placed responsibility for maintenance and repair squarely on the tenant, and because the tenant endeavored to perform maintenance and repair, the landlord’s majority shareholder owed no duty to a technician, whose slip and fall complaint was entirely grounded on the common law rule.
MORE>> | September 23, 2011 |
| Court finds individuals liable under corporate lease | In an August 2011 New York County landlord/tenant action, 498 Seventh Ave. LLC v. Easy Street, Inc., it was held that, where a corporation is dissolved by proclamation, and leases are then signed by individuals purportedly in their representative capacities as officers of said corporation, those individuals were to be held personally responsible to the landlord for the obligations incurred under said leases. The Court reasoned that since the individuals purported to act on behalf of a corporation that did not have either a de jure nor a de facto existence, they were to be held personally liable for the obligations incurred under those leases. The Court granted summary judgment to the landlord. | September 01, 2011 |
| Property Tax Cap Enacted | New NYS legislation establishes a limit on property tax increases at 2% per year, or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. School districts will only be permitted to exceed the cap if 60% of voters in that district vote in favor of such a measure. This new property tax cap is to take effect for the 2012 fiscal year and sunset in 2016. Many hope that this new law will reduce the burden on Long Island homeowners, who pay one of the highest property tax rates in the nation. | June 29, 2011 |
| Employment Discrimination | News Flash: The Supreme Court finds insufficient proof of a common company-wide policy of discrimination by Wal-Mart, thereby dashing the hopes of the more than one million female past and present employees who are seeking to establish a class action discrimination suit against this giant. The Supreme Court's ruling in this case will likely hurt other plaintiffs' attempts to certify class actions and force individual plaintiffs to bring their own, often cost-prohibitive, legal actions. This ruling is a victory for the big company employers, and a loss for the individual workers. | June 21, 2011 |
New Obama Administration Estate,
Capital Gains and Gifting Rules  * | With a little forethought and estate planning, the new tax laws signed by President Obama in late December, 2010 may be used to your family's financial benefit. Here is some of what you need to think about in order to take advantage of these new laws: MORE>> | April 04, 2011 |
Obama Tax Relief Act -
Thursday, December 17, 2010 | New federal estate tax laws for 2011 and 2012 extend the Bush tax cuts, and then some. Among other things, these new laws increase the exemption amounts to Five Million ($5,000,000.00) Dollars per testator, indexed for inflation, set the estate tax rate at 35% for amounts over the exemption amount, continue the step-up in basis upon death rules, and increase the gift tax exemption from One Million ($1,000,000.00) to Five Million ($5,000,000.00) Dollars. MORE>> | February 04, 2011 |
| Matrimonial Appeal Victory | We are proud of our recent victory in an appeal brought before the Appellate Division.
In this matrimonial action, the lower court found that the appellant wife had wastefully dissipated over $200,000.00 in marital funds, which she conceded having spent paying maintenance expenses of the marital residence during the years between the commencement of the marital action and the trial. The lower court directed that she reimburse her former MORE>> | July 21, 2010 |
| GIFT RIDER * | The new Power of Attorney form and Gift Rider are now required in New York State whenever an individual wishes to give a third party legal authority to act, make decisions, or give gifts on behalf of a principal. These forms provide a uniform document which must be respected by third parties, instead of the old system in which each institution could have requested their own forms be used. However, these new forms are much more involved and detailed, and should be read carefully. It is suggested that any individual seeking to execute the new Power of Attorney (and Gift Rider) should first consult an attorney. MORE>> | July 20, 2010 |
| POWER OF ATTORNEY * | The new Power of Attorney form and Gift Rider are now required in New York State whenever an individual wishes to give a third party legal authority to act, make decisions, or give gifts on behalf of a principal. These forms provide a uniform document which must be respected by third parties, instead of the old system in which each institution could have requested their own forms be used. However, these new forms are much more involved and detailed, and should be read carefully. It is suggested that any individual seeking to execute the new Power of Attorney (and Gift Rider) should first consult an attorney. MORE>> | July 20, 2010 |
* These forms are not intended for execution, but rather are merely informational. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. All information posted is general advice only, based upon the rules of NYS, and is not intended to be a substitute for personal legal advice. Although information provided here was accurate as of the date of posting, laws change frequently and rules in other jurisdictions may differ. Therefore, readers should not rely upon these postings but should consult an attorney to discuss their specific factual situation.
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