Monthly Archives: April 2019

MOTORCYCLE-INVOLVED ACCIDENTS RAISE COMPLICATED ISSUES AS TO LIABILITY, CAUSATION AND ALLOCATION OF FAULT

Posted on April 29, 2019 | Comments Off on MOTORCYCLE-INVOLVED ACCIDENTS RAISE COMPLICATED ISSUES AS TO LIABILITY, CAUSATION AND ALLOCATION OF FAULT

I cannot recall why and when I first started collecting the articles about motorcycle accidents; however, over time, I realized that lawsuits arising from such claims are very common (in retrospect, for obvious reasons, the inherent danger and risk of riding a motorcycle).  The causes raise a broad panoply of issues including proximate cause, helmet design and manufacture; and road and intersection signage and speed limits.  A few recent examples follow:

Caro v. Chesnick, 2017 NY Slip Op 07940 (1st Dept., November 14, 2017)

Supreme Court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

The First Department briefly described the facts:

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Posted in Litigation, Motor Vehicle Law, New York Law, Personal Injury

“Baseball is a game of inches.” Branch Rickey

Posted on April 23, 2019 | Comments Off on “Baseball is a game of inches.” Branch Rickey

This was originally published on the SGR blog.

And often so is construction. A recent case illustrates the point:

A Romanian Orthodox Christian Church in Elmhurst, Queens is adjacent to a construction site. Defendants were building a substantial residential apartment building next door. For construction to proceed, a retaining wall was built very close to the Church property line. The Church hired a professional surveyor who found that the steel piles encroached on the north end of the Church’s western property line by 2.5 inches and at the south end of its western property line by 3.25 inches. The survey also showed that the wood lagging encroached on the Church’s property at the north end of its western property line by 3.25 inches and at the south end of its western property line by 3.75 inches.

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Posted in Real Estate

Enforcement Delayed is Enforcement Denied

Posted on April 22, 2019 | Comments Off on Enforcement Delayed is Enforcement Denied

This was originally published on the SGR blog.

Some residential buildings are “pet friendly”—and some are not.  But even where a lease in New York City prohibits household pets, the Administrative Code creates a “safe harbor” for animals when the landlord  fails to start a summary (eviction) proceeding for breach of the lease within three months of learning of the violation.

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Posted in Condominiums, Real Estate

SHOUT “FORE” BEFORE TAKING THAT “MULLIGAN”

Posted on April 8, 2019 | Comments Off on SHOUT “FORE” BEFORE TAKING THAT “MULLIGAN”

Golf, like any other recreational activity, runs the risk of accidents on the course – and the resulting injuries often lead to “finger pointing” as to which golfer was at fault.  And the game also often raises predictable and unpredictable collateral disputes such as whether a golf club membership is property that can be seized by a judgment creditor; and claims for trespass and nuisance damages when golf balls land on an adjacent property.  Several recent examples follow:

MacIsaac v. Nassau County, 2017 NY Slip Op 05814, 2d Dept. July 26, 2017 Continue reading →

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Posted in Litigation, Litigation, New York Law, Personal Injury

New York Court of Appeals Alert (March 2019)

Posted on April 1, 2019 | Comments Off on New York Court of Appeals Alert (March 2019)

This first appeared on the SGR Blog.

The mid-2019/2020 Term of the Court of Appeals did not result in any “blockbuster” civil law decisions. The Court, however, did release two opinions that demonstrate how the panel addresses the application of precedents, on the one hand, and substantive conflicts in the Appellate Divisions, on the other.

In the first case, over a stinging dissent, the Court adhered to a 1999 decision  holding that a “stairway” may constitute a “sidewalk”  for tort liability purposes.  And in the second, the Court resolved a split in the Departments over whether the filing of  suit by a New York attorney who did not (as required by law)   maintain an office in the state,  was a curable violation.

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Posted in Litigation, Litigation, New York Law