Court: NY Court of Appeals

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In Wittorf v. City of New York, a bicycle injury case, the Court of Appeals reinstated an approximately $2 million jury verdict against the City. The court’s decision turned on the subtle, yet critical, distinction between “proprietary” and “governmental” functions. Judge Graffeo authored the opinion. Here are the facts of this bicycle injury case: On the…

Read More Court of Appeals Reinstates $2M Bicycle Injury Verdict, Finding That Closing Road Was a “Proprietary” Governmental Function
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The New York Court of Appeals held, in Webb-Weber v. Community Action for Human Servs., Inc. (decided May 13, 2014) that plaintiff adequately stated a claim under New York’s Whistleblower Law, Labor Law § 740(2)(a). That statute provides, in pertinent part: An employer shall not take any retaliatory personnel action against an employee because such employee … discloses,…

Read More Court of Appeals Broadly Interprets New York’s General Whistleblower Statute, Labor Law § 740
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The New York Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) recently clarified the standards applicable when a party to litigation seeks information, or discovery, from a non-party. The case, Matter of Kapon v. Koch, arises from billionaire William I. Koch’s lawsuit to recover damages for the alleged sale of counterfeit wine. (The court issued the decision on…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Clarifies Burdens Relating to Nonparty Subpoenas Under CPLR 3101(a)(4)
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In Jacobsen v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., 2014 N.Y. Slip Op 2098, the New York Court of Appeals recently held that summary judgment should not have been granted on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claims under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. The court held that “both statutes generally preclude summary judgment…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Holds That Issues of Fact as to “Reasonable Accommodation” Preclude Summary Judgment on Disability Discrimination Claims
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In Fabrizi v. 1095 Ave. of the Americas, the New York Court of Appeals addressed the issue of what constitutes a safety device within the meaning of Labor Law § 240(1). That statute, known as the “Scaffold Law”, provides: All contractors and owners and their agents, except owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for…

Read More Court of Appeals Clarifies What is a Labor Law § 240(1) Safety Device
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In Doe v. Guthrie Clinic, Ltd., the New York Court of Appeals considered the following question: Whether, under New York law, the common law right of action for breach of the fiduciary duty of confidentiality for the unauthorized disclosure of medical information may run directly against medical corporations, even when the employee responsible for the breach is…

Read More Medical Corporation Not Absolutely Liable For Employee’s Disclosure of Patient’s Medical Information
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In Caronia v. Philip Morris USA, Inc., decided December 17, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals addressed the following question: Under New York Law, may a current or former longtime heavy smoker who has not been diagnosed with a smoking-related disease, and who is not under investigation by a physician for such a suspected…

Read More New York Court of Appeals Refuses to Create New Cause of Action for “Medical Monitoring”
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In Auqui v Seven Thirty One Ltd. Partnership, decided December 10, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) held that the determination by the Workers’ Compensation Board that plaintiff had “no further causally-related disability since January 24, 2006” and no further need for treatment was not entitled to collateral estoppel effect in…

Read More Court of Appeals Declines, in Negligence Case, to Give Collateral Estoppel Effect to Workers’ Compensation Board Finding
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In Devito v. Feliciano, decided November 26, 2013, the New York Court of Appeals held that the trial court erroneously failed to give a “missing witness” charge in a car accident case. The court held: [W]hen a missing witness charge is requested in a civil case, the uncalled witness’s testimony may properly be considered cumulative…

Read More Failure to Give “Missing Witness” Charge Results in New Trial Following Defense Verdict in Car Accident Case
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