New York Court of Appeals Decisions 2021

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals answered questions certified by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the validity of tort claims brought by a judgment debtor against its judgment creditors, holding that a judgment debtor's…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action involving a dispute over ownership of the proceeds of the sale of an Edgar Degas painting that was stolen from Margaret Kainer in the 1930s the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment of Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these appeals concerning two permutations of the issue of whether non-compliance with the signature acknowledgement requirements of Domestic Relations Law (DRL) 236(B)(3) renders a nuptial agreement irrevocably…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the second degree, three counts of robbery in the first degree, and two counts of attempted robbery in the first degree, holding that Defendant was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Appellate Division reversing Supreme Court's order granting summary judgment to Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and Bear Stearns Securities Corp. (collectively, Bear Stearns) in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the Appellate Division modifying the judgment of Supreme Court certifying Defendant, who was convicted of burglary in the first degree as a sexually motivated felony, as a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed Defendant's conviction on several counts related to the possession of firearms and controlled substances, holding that reversal was required because no Frye hearing was held on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals held in these consolidated appeals that liability for the death benefits claims at issue could not be transferred to the Special Fund for Reopened Cases (the Special Fund). At issue in these appeals…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed Defendant's conviction of robbery in the first degree, holding that the trial court, in denying Defendant's application under People v. Bedessie, 19 NY3d 147 (2012), did not err in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals accepted a question certified by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and answered that no provide cause of action exists for violations of New York Public Health Law…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, when a deliberating jury requests supplemental instruction concerning a relevant criminal statute, consent of the parties is not required before the trial court, during a readback of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals answered in the affirmative two questions certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in this case involving New York's current usury laws. Specifically, the Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the judgments of the trial courts in these two cases convicting Defendants of violating Administrative Code of the City of New York 19-190, known as the "Right of Way Law," holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed the order of the appellate division affirming the judgment of Supreme Court dismissing this complaint for failure to state a claim, holding that Plaintiff's allegations were sufficient to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed the order of the appellate division affirming Defendant's conviction of grand larceny in the third degree, holding that Defendant neither forfeited his right to counsel nor validly waived…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed the order of the Appellate Division and remanded with directions to grant Defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment against him insofar as it sought to dismiss the count in the indictment…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the appellate division reversing the orders of Supreme Court denying Defendants' motions to dismiss the complaint against them pursuant to N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3211(a)(8) on the ground…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals held that, under NY City Civ Ct Act 1808, small claims judgments do not have collateral estoppel or issue preclusive effect but that such judgments may have the traditional res judicator or claim…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the Appellate Division affirming the decision of Supreme Court dismissing Plaintiffs' complaint alleging that Defendant engaged in deceptive business practices in violation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the Appellate Division affirming the judgment of the suppression court denying Defendant's motion to suppress certain eavesdropping evidence, holding that eavesdropping warrants…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the Appellate Term in these two cases reversing the default judgments entered against them for charges of certain traffic infractions, holding that a Traffic and Parking…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these three appeals challenging the facial sufficiency of the accusatory instrument filed against Defendants, the Court of Appeals held that a certificate of translation is not required to convert a complaint into an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals held that the construction of approximately twenty-seven miles of Class II community connector trails designed for snowmobile use in the Forest Preserve violated the "forever wild" provision of N.Y.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the Appellate Division holding that recovery of a claimant's schedule loss of use (SLU) award by his estate is limited to the portion of the award that would have been due to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals reversed the judgment of the Appellate Term for the Ninth and Tenth Judicial Districts, holding that the Appellate Term lacked authority to adopt a rule of criminal procedure requiring special…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal involving a foreclosure action commenced in federal court, the Court of Appeals answered two questions posed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit implicating what a lender must do…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals held that the provisions of Executive Law 552, which created a special prosecutor appointed by the Governor empowered to investigate and prosecute crimes of abuse or neglect of vulnerable victims in…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these four appeals turning on the timeliness of a mortgage foreclosure claim and involving the intersection of contracts affecting real property ownership and the application of the statute of limitations, the Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals held that the regulations of the Office of Victim Services (OVS), as amended, that limit attorneys' fee awards for crime victim claimants to the costs incurred on applications for administrative…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case disputing whether Plaintiff, who was in close proximity to her grandchild when he was involved in a fatal accident, may pursue a claim for bystander recovery under a "zone of danger" theory, the Court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the Appellate Division affirming Supreme Court's judgment ordering the suppression of physical evidence seized from two vehicles, holding that the search warrant materials…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the Appellate Division upholding the denial of Defendant's suppression motion, holding that the search warrant in this case was facially valid and that Defendant's challenge to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals held that the definition of credit card in N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 511(1), as supplemented by N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 511-a, is the controlling definition as designated by N.Y. Penal Law 155.00(7) and, as a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of Plaintiff's claims that sought to hold Michael Bloomberg vicariously liable for Nicholas Ferris's offending conduct, holding that Bloomberg was not an "employer" within the…