N.Y. Appeals Court Keeps Two Trees in Rent-Fraud Suit but Clears the Walentases
The Second Department let a former tenant's fraud claims proceed against managing agent Two Trees but dismissed every claim against David C. Walentas and Jed Walentas.
New York Appellate Division
Fourth Department Bars $2.2 Million Lost-Profits Claim Over Dropped Gas Compressor
A contractor paid $1,040 under an oral deal to lift a natural gas compressor never took on the owners' lost profits when it dropped the unit, a New York appeals court held.
N.Y. Appeals Court Voids Car Dealer's Settlement With Ex-Salesman Over Customer Records
The Fourth Department revived a dealership's suit, finding a former salesman falsely warranted in a settlement that he held none of its confidential information.
N.Y. Appeals Court Rejects Jury-Trial Challenge to Human Rights Division Fines
The Fourth Department upheld a $45,000 penalty and a retaliation finding against Tessy Plastics, which fired a worker weeks after she reported an alleged sexual assault.
Appeals Court Revives Two Uber Crash Suits Over Driver's Contractor Status
The Second Department held that Uber and its Rasier affiliates failed to show the driver in two Kings County crash suits was an independent contractor rather than an employee.
New York Appeals Court Bars 'Loss of Life' Damages in Erie County Jail Death Case
A divided Fourth Department vacated the damages award in an Erie County jail-death case, dismissed the claims against the County and ordered a new damages trial.
Appeals Court Upholds Exclusion of Defense Biomechanical Expert, Cuts $2 Million Award
The First Department said a defense engineer's causation analysis was not shown to be generally accepted but cut a Bronx jury's pain award to $1.35 million.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Ithaca's Approval of Cornell Turf Fields Over PFAS Fears
Ithaca's planning board took the required "hard look" at chemical risks before approving Cornell's turf fields without an environmental impact statement.
New York Appeals Court Rejects Bid to Overturn Abyssinian Baptist Church Pastor Vote
The First Department held the bylaws require a majority of votes cast, not of all eligible members, and found the claims of irregularity speculative.
First Department Revives Iron Horse Credit's Asset Turnover Claim Against Eli Wilner
A New York appeals court held that a trial judge erred in ruling that a release of guaranty let Eli M. Wilner, as a matter of law, hold assets until a three-year term expired.
New York Appeals Court Keeps Freeze on LOLA Energy Payouts to Owners in BP Loan Suit
A unanimous First Department panel affirmed an order barring LOLA Energy PetroCo from distributing encumbered proceeds to its owners while BP Energy's contract suit proceeds.
Appeals Court Says Invictus Never Earned Fee After Corbin Ended Co-Investment Deals
A New York appellate panel held that Invictus Global Management's performance fee never accrued because Corbin Capital Partners ended the deals before quarter-end.
Appeals Court Revives Ex-Employee's Claim That Co-Founder Sank Job Over Loan
The First Department reinstated a former pulseData employee's counterclaim that a co-founder who lent him money used company tools to kill a job prospect over the debt.
First Department Bars Turnover of Debtor's Dominican Real Estate in Fee Fight
A New York appeals panel held CPLR 5225(a) reaches only personal property, shielding a client's trust-held pension and Dominican Republic land she purportedly owned from a law firm's turnover order.
Appeals Court Sends Kasowitz Lawyer's Suit Against the Firm to Arbitration
The First Department held that Kasowitz's 2023 partnership agreement, which requires arbitration, superseded the 2018 agreement a lawyer joined under before rejoining.
New York Appeals Court Bars Nantucket Capital From Pursuing California Loan Suit
The First Department found the California case was filed in bad faith to escape the New York courts and New York law chosen in the parties' loan documents.
N.Y. Appeals Court Tosses Parent's Suit Over Denied School Vaccine Exemptions
The Third Department held that a mother who withdrew her appeals to the Commissioner of Education could not sue the Ithaca school district over denied medical exemptions.
Third Department Refuses to Order DEC Study of Boat Traffic on Saranac Lakes
A New York appeals court held that the Adirondack plan's call for DEC to study lakes' capacity for motorized use is a goal, not a duty a court can enforce.
Appeals Court Holds Universal Protection Must Indemnify ABM for Manhattan Barricade Fall
The First Department held that Universal assumed liability for a 2016 plaza fall when it bought ABM's security business, but tossed ABM's claim for contribution.
Appeals Court Rejects Bronx Buyer's Bid for $270,000 Price Cut on 'As Is' Damaged House
A contract clause on pre-closing deterioration barred a buyer from using New York's casualty-loss law to cut the price on a damaged 'as is' house, the First Department held.
NY Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Suit Over Merger That Eliminated LLC Members
The First Department held that Sol-REIT Advisors' operating agreement let a majority approve "any merger," ending members' challenge to the deal that cut them out.
Third Department Rules Cornell Student Can't Be Sued in New York Over Princeton Probe
A unanimous panel held a Washington State student kept her home-state domicile while at Cornell, ending a Princeton student's defamation suit in New York.
First Department Voids Hemp Store's Federal Fee Award in Cannabis Summons Fight
A unanimous appellate panel held that a store that beat a Sheriff's Office cannabis summons on state-law grounds could not collect federal civil-rights fees.
Appeals Court Says Insurer's Default Judgment Bars Provider's Coverage Claims Despite Earlier Arbitration Win
The First Department held that Hereford Insurance's default no-coverage judgment bars a medical provider's claims, though the provider's arbitration award was affirmed first.
N.Y. Court Revives Ex-Roosevelt Island Chief's Whistleblower Claim Over Steam Tunnels
The Third Department held that New York's public-employee whistleblower law covers reports of government inaction, reinstating Susan Rosenthal's retaliation claim.
Appeals Court Gives First Firm Entire Fee After Rival Collected $100,000 Settlement
The Second Department upheld an award of the full car-crash contingency fee to the firm that won a policy-limits tender, leaving the replacement firm nothing.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Discharge of Lehman Mortgage, Rejecting MERS Standing Defense
The Second Department held that a 2022 foreclosure law barred U.S. Bank from arguing that a 2008 suit brought by MERS never started the six-year clock to foreclose.
Federal ADA Loss Does Not Bar Wheelchair User's State Bias Claims, NY Court Rules
The Second Department revived a wheelchair user's state and city discrimination claims against a clothing store, holding that her federal ADA defeat did not decide them.
N.Y. Appeals Court Strikes Nassau County Ban on Transgender Women in Park Sports
The Second Department held that Nassau County's law barring park use for women's events open to transgender women conflicts with state antidiscrimination laws.
Second Department Throws Out Homeowners' Challenge to NYC Second-Home Surcharge
A unanimous appellate panel held that homeowners listed on New York City's surcharge roll or sent initial notices suffered no injury giving them standing to sue.
N.Y. Appeals Court Rejects Bid to Halt State Financing of Cannabis Dispensaries
The Third Department held that New York's funding of social-equity cannabis retail shops does not conflict with the federal Controlled Substances Act.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds State's Remedy for Underfunded Small-City Schools
The Third Department held that New York acted rationally by fully funding the Foundation Aid formula after courts found it had shortchanged at-risk students in small cities.
N.Y. Appeals Court Dissolves Order Halting Navios Shareholder Arbitration
The First Department held that Peers Business Inc. could not seek a court stay under CPLR 7503(b) after it had already taken part in the arbitration.
N.Y. Appeals Court Says Insurer Owes Nothing for Hotel Fire Over Missing Smoke Detectors
A unanimous Third Department panel held Seneca Insurance need not cover a 2018 fire because a Cobleskill hotel complex lacked working smoke detectors in public areas.
N.Y. Court Lets Landfill Neighbors Press Nuisance Claim, Rejects Green Amendment Suits
The Third Department kept alive a private nuisance claim against Seneca Meadows but held the Green Amendment reaches neither the private landfill nor DEC's enforcement choices.
N.Y. Appeals Court Says Anti-SLAPP Law Shields Email in Suit Against Cushman & Wakefield
The First Department affirmed dismissal of a city subcontractor's suit, holding that an email to government officials about its work was speech on an issue of public interest.
N.Y. Appeals Court Keeps Hofstra's Defense-Cost Claim Against Insurer Alive
The First Department held that United Educators' policies exclude tuition refunds but that student class actions seeking other damages trigger its duty to pay defense costs.
N.Y. Appeals Court Tosses Fraud Claims Over Avaya Notes, Keeps State Securities Claim
The First Department held Brigade funds failed to plead fraud against two defendants but may press a North Carolina securities claim not based on Avaya's projections.
Appeals Court Revives Ex-Portfolio Manager's Suit Seeking Legal Fees From Funds
A unanimous First Department panel held that Jordan Chirico adequately alleged two 3|5|2 Capital funds must advance his costs in a DOJ probe and a federal suit.
Appeals Court Rejects Landlord's Rent Suit, Citing Lack of Notice Before Reletting
New York's First Department held a landlord had to notify a departed tenant before retaking and reletting the space, ending its bid to collect rent for the rest of the lease.
N.Y. Appeals Court Dismisses Fordham's Privilege Appeal for Lack of Record Evidence
The First Department held that Fordham's lawyers' unsworn appellate briefs could not substitute for admissible evidence supporting its attorney-client and work-product claims.
N.Y. Appeals Court Dismisses Suit Against Chinese Toymaker Over Toy Fair Contacts
The First Department held that a Chinese toymaker's visit to a California company's booth at the 2025 New York City Toy Fair did not give New York courts jurisdiction over it.
N.Y. Appeals Court Tosses Consultant's Contract Claim for $172,500 Fee Under LLC Pact
The First Department held a no-third-party-beneficiary clause barred a consultant named as an "affiliate" from suing on the LLC agreement, but revived its quantum meruit claim.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Striking of Answer in Defamation Suit Over Withheld Posts
The First Department affirmed orders making a defendant pay for a forensic search of her devices and striking her answer after she ignored repeated discovery orders.
N.Y. Appeals Court Revives Swiss Bank's Bid to Recover $2 Million Wired by Rogue Banker
The First Department reinstated conversion claims against three companies that allegedly took a bank client's $2 million and used it to buy New York real estate.
N.Y. Appeals Court Revives Cannabis Dispensary Bid Voided Over Late Form
A unanimous Third Department panel held that state cannabis regulators acted arbitrarily in voiding Griffon Green LLC's dispensary bid over a co-owner's late, redundant form.
Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Medley Malpractice Suit Against Lowenstein Sandler
A New York appeals court held that Lowenstein Sandler's bankruptcy strategy was reasonable and that Medley Management could not prove a reorganization plan would have been approved.
N.Y. Appeals Court Orders New Trial in BMW Airbag Case Over Conflicting Verdict
The Third Department held that jurors who found a MINI Cooper airbag defective, but found BMW not negligent in choosing it, returned irreconcilable answers.
N.Y. Appeals Court Orders Release of Lawyer's Admonition, Keeps Grievance File Sealed
The Third Department held that the First Amendment presumptively opens a grievance committee's final ruling on John A. Sarcone III, but not its investigative file.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds $20,000 Fine on Bridal Designer That Refused Same-Sex Couple
The First Department confirmed a state order against D. Auxilly NYC, rejecting its free speech and religious freedom defenses to refusing a Missouri bride.
N.Y. Appeals Court Revives Tenant's Class Claims Over Landlord's Lease-Break Fees
The First Department held that a tenant plausibly alleged a reletting fee and a two-month lease-break fee unlawfully sidestep a landlord's statutory duty to mitigate.
N.Y. Appeals Court Revives Ex-Trump Aide's Retaliation Claim Over $1.5 Million Arbitration
A unanimous First Department panel held that a jury could find the Trump campaign's stated reason for a $1.5 million arbitration demand against a former staffer was pretextual.
N.Y. Appeals Court Revives Crash Victim's Claims Against Uber Over Driver's Status
The Second Department held that three Uber companies failed to prove their driver was an independent contractor and reinstated a crash victim's claims against them.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Anti-SLAPP Fee Awards Over Putnam County Campaign Email
The Second Department affirmed dismissal of a defamation suit over a 2024 primary email and let stand $22,790.25 in fee awards to the two defendants.
N.Y. Appeals Court Lets 9/11 Family's Malpractice Suit Against Kreindler Firm Proceed
The Second Department said a 9/11 widow can pursue claims that Kreindler & Kreindler's delays cut her family's terrorism-fund recovery to .0626% of eligible damages.
N.Y. Appeals Court Lets Landscaping Workers Pursue Wage Claims as a Class
The First Department unanimously upheld class status for Dragonetti Brothers workers who say they were denied prevailing wages for tree work on public projects.
First Department Grants Cura Foundation Summary Judgment on Pledge Note
A unanimous panel reversed and granted The Cura Foundation summary judgment in lieu of complaint on a note Stephen Shaya signed to pay the balance of a pledge.
New York Court Says IKB Cannot Appeal Dismissal It Requested in Morgan Stanley Suit
The First Department dismissed IKB's appeal from a consent order ending its fraud suit against Morgan Stanley and upheld pretrial rulings that had narrowed its trial evidence.
N.Y. Appeals Court Tosses Claims Over $228 Million in Tower Group Debt Against ACP Re, AmTrust
The First Department held that ACP Re and Karfunkel-linked companies never became liable for debt issued by defunct Tower Group units.
First Department Upholds NYC Pandemic Law Shielding Commercial Lease Guarantors
A 4-1 state appeals panel held that New York City's guaranty law, which barred collecting pandemic-era rent from personal guarantors, does not violate the Contracts Clause.
First Department Says Access-Law Amendment Does Not Disturb Neighbor's Fee Award
A unanimous panel affirmed a $41,196.70 fee award against Panasia Estate, holding that fees under RPAPL 881 do not depend on which side prevails.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds $1.17 Million Judgment Against Jide Zeitlin Over Loan Deal
A unanimous First Department panel held that the defendants had to turn over a $413,731.53 recovery without deducting legal fees and list a Dutchess County property.
Appeals Court Gives Ex-Mount Sinai IT Manager Win on Disability Dialogue Claim
The First Department held Mount Sinai liable under the city's Human Rights Law for never discussing accommodations with a disabled manager.
N.Y. Appeals Court Says Landowner's Deal With Town Sank His Rail Trail Defenses
The Third Department held that a landowner who dropped his property claims against the town with prejudice lost both those claims and his defenses to a land trust's suit.
N.Y. Appeals Court Vacates $1.4 Million Waterworks Award in Chelsea Building Dispute
The First Department upheld the fixture supplier's contract and lien claims but ordered new damages proceedings, disregarding proof Waterworks first offered in reply.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Foreign Bank's Win on Defaulted Loan of About $10 Million
The First Department unanimously held that RBL Bank Limited could sue in New York and that the borrower and its guarantor could not invoke a Banking Law defense.
Appeals Court Lets Estate Executors Pursue Malpractice Suit Against Falcon Rappaport
A unanimous First Department panel held that a formal agreement engaging the firm for a company that owned an estate's commercial property did not defeat the executors' claim to be the firm's clients.
N.Y. Appeals Court Keeps City's Ejectment Suits Against Two Health Occupants Alive
The First Department held that Heritage's agreement, including its 60-day no-cause termination clause, pointed to a license, not a lease, and that neither occupant had conclusively shown it was entitled to tenants' notice rights.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Win for Funds Suing Chinese Developer Over Defaulted Notes
A unanimous First Department panel held that funds holding bonds through Euroclear could sue and that a change in Chinese law did not excuse the issuer's nonpayment.
N.Y. Appeals Court Blocks RICO Claim, Upholds $425,000 Receiver Fee in Resort LLC Fight
The Second Department barred RICO and fraud claims and cut two tort counts from the suit of a co-owner of the company that owned the Hudson Valley Resort, but kept her partner's counterclaim open.
N.Y. Appeals Court Tosses Lawyer's Bid for Fees Spent Defending a Fee Award
The Second Department held that a promissory note lacking express language on fees on fees could not support Jonathan Davidoff's suit, and ordered the suit dismissed.
Second Department Says Keeping Notice of Pendency After Injunction Loss Signals Bad Faith
A New York appeals court affirmed cancellation of a would-be dealership buyer's notice of pendency after a judge found money damages would make the buyer whole.
Second Department Says Hempstead Owes FOIL Fees to Law Firm, Rejects Companion Suit
Hempstead missed its deadline on a law firm's records appeal and must pay the firm's fees, the court held, but it upheld dismissal of the firm's second, premature suit.
Red-Lined Indemnity Clause Bars Owner's Lost-Rent Claim, N.Y. Appeals Court Rules
The Second Department held that a contract from which the parties struck 'any other economic loss' excludes lost rent, but reopened the owner's security and equipment claims.
N.Y. Appeals Court Applies California Law to Toss Ex-Worker's Claim Against Grubmarket
A New York appellate panel dismissed a fired employee's implied-covenant counterclaim under his contract's California-law clause but let his contract counterclaim proceed.
Appeals Court Upholds $1.2 Million Verdict Against Church in Preschool Lease Fight
The First Department upheld a finding that a church landlord gave up its lease's jury waiver by raising it four months after the tenants filed their note of issue.
Fourth Department Lets Fired BOCES Employee File Late Discrimination Claim
A unanimous panel held that her grievance gave Erie 1 BOCES timely knowledge of the claim, though she had no reasonable excuse for missing the 90-day deadline.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Union Clause Requiring Dues Until Annual Opt-Out Window
The Fourth Department unanimously declared that a teacher who quit his union in March could be charged dues until the August revocation window opened.
Fourth Department Upholds Cut of CMBS Trustee's Roughly $588,000 Fee Request to $250,000
A unanimous panel affirmed an Erie County judge who cut a securitized lender's legal fees and refused to stack note-rate interest on top of default interest.
First Department Affirms Refusal to Vacate Default Judgment, Rejects Usury Defense
A unanimous panel held that a business owing a funder 15% of its future receivables failed to show the deal was a loan, a necessary element of a usury defense.
New York Appeals Court Ends Iberdrola's Fraud Suit Against Oaktree
The First Department held that Iberdrola could not sue for fraud over work it was already obligated to perform under its construction contract.
Divided First Department Tosses Negligent Supervision Claim Against Cosby Show Producer
A 3-2 appeals panel held that Bill Cosby's alleged use of the Cosby Show set to win a woman's trust did not make Carsey-Werner liable for his alleged assaults.
N.Y. Appeals Court Rejects City's Greenwashing Suit Against Exxon, Shell and BP
A unanimous First Department panel held that ads for lower-emission gasoline could not mislead consumers the city says already know fossil fuels drive climate change.
Car Dealer Waived Arbitration by Litigating Vehicle-Fire Suit, NY Appeals Court Rules
The Second Department held that Merlex Auto Group gave up its right to arbitrate a buyer's injury claim by litigating for about 18 months before seeking arbitration.
Second Department Breaks With First Department on NYC Tax Class Challenges
The Second Department said owners of vacant residential lots may use article 78 to fix city tax class errors, declining to follow a First Department ruling.
N.Y. Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Fraud-Aiding Claims Against PepsiCo
The Second Department said a shareholder's complaint did not show PepsiCo gave the affirmative help needed to plead it aided an alleged inflated-invoice scheme.
N.Y. Appeals Court Says Nonprofit Officers Owe No Fiduciary Duty to Members
The Second Department dismissed a broker's remaining claims against the Long Island Board of Realtors and three officials over a $5,000 fine and account suspension.
N.Y. Appeals Court Sends Equinox Membership-Fee Class Action to Arbitration
The Second Department held that a claim Equinox's membership contract violated the Health Club Services Act does not void the agreement's arbitration clause.
Appeals Court Tosses Lawyer's $500,000 Suit Over 'Master of None' Google Review
The Second Department held a Google review mocking an attorney was protected opinion under New York's anti-SLAPP law and ordered him to pay the reviewer's legal fees.
N.Y. Appeals Court Lets Ticket-Fee Class Action Against Museum of Ice Cream Proceed
The Second Department held the voluntary payment doctrine does not bar claims that a ticket seller disclosed fees too late or not conspicuously enough under state law.
NY Appeals Court Lets Attorney General Subpoena Out-of-State Restaurant Review Records
The First Department refused to narrow Letitia James' subpoena in a deceptive-review probe, citing the company's New York ties and ".nyc" email addresses.
New York Appeals Court Revives Investors' Mortgage-Bond Claims Against U.S. Bank
The First Department held that Article 77 determinations that U.S. Bank reasonably accepted trust settlements in 2014 do not bar claims that U.S. Bank failed earlier to pursue Citigroup and JPMorgan over bad loans.