New York Court of Appeals Decisions 2013

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of robbery. During trial, a video recording was admitted into evidence that showed the crime victim being robbed by two men. The victim identified Defendant as one of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, current and/or former longtime smokers of Marlboro cigarettes, filed this putative class action in federal court against Philip Morris USA, Inc. asserting, among other claims, an equitable cause of action for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sold fine art and antiques at public auctions. Plaintiff permitted absentee bidding in addition to traditional in-person bidding. In 2008, Defendant submitted a signed absentee bidder form and submitted a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Defendant pleaded guilty to attempted assault in the first degree. The trial court orally sentenced Defendant to a fifteen-year determinate sentence of incarceration without pronouncing the term of postrelease…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea bargain, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in the first degree. Defendant was sentenced to twenty-five-year and five-year terms of imprisonment, to be served consecutively. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the first case involved in this appeal, Defendant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of marihuana. Defendant appealed, asserting that his plea was invalid because the record did not affirmatively demonstrate the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, former employees of a school district (District), were members of a collective bargaining unit. One plaintiff retired while the 1999-2003 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was in effect, and the other…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree for causing the death of a man by holding him in a headlock. Defendant appealed, arguing that several of the trial court's rulings in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured during the course of his employment when he was struck by a sheet of plywood that fell from a building under construction. Plaintiff received workers' compensation benefits for his injuries and then…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with first and second degree robbery and other crimes. The first degree robbery charge was based on the alleged display of a firearm. The jury at Defendant's first trial acquitted Defendant of first…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was charged with multiple counts of murder and other offenses arising from a mass shooting at a screening of "Batman" at a movie theater in Colorado. The Colorado state court presiding over the criminal…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State Commission on Judicial Conduct brought two charges against Petitioner Glen George, a non-lawyer justice of the Middletown Town Court. Each charge involved allegations of misconduct while Petitioner was acting…

Justia Opinion Summary: On October 18, 2000, Tenant leased Landlord's billboard for fifteen years, commencing on December 1, 2000 and ending September 30, 2015. The lease obligated Tenant to pay the full annual basic rent for 2007 to Landlord…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendants were convicted of first-degree robbery. Defendants appealed, arguing, among other things, that their counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to assert as an affirmative defense…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with arson in the third degree, insurance fraud in the second degree, and reckless endangerment in the first degree. Defendant's first trial ended in a hung jury. At his second trial, the jury found…

Justia Opinion Summary: The New York City Department of Homeless Services (DHS) is the entity charged with providing temporary housing assistance to homeless men and women in the City. In 2011, DHS announced the adoption of a new eligibility…

Justia Opinion Summary: Nelson D. was a convicted sex offender who suffered from mental retardation. The State filed a N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law 10 petition seeking to subject Nelson to civil management. After a dispositional hearing, Supreme Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured when a van operated by Dennis Feliciano and owned by Paragon Cable Manhattan rear-ended the car in which Plaintiff was a passenger. Plaintiff filed this suit against Feliciano and Paragon Cable…

Justia Opinion Summary: On January 14, 2010, Plaintiff received a $4.4 million judgment against The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ("Port Authority"). The Nash judgment became final as of July 13, 2011 due to the Port Authority's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants in these three consolidated appeals were convicted of depraved indifference murder for driving in an outrageously reckless manner while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs and causing the death of at least one…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs here were a group of travel companies that enable customers to make online travel arrangements, including hotel reservations. Plaintiffs brought a declaratory judgment action challenging the constitutionality…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Petitioner was convicted several crimes. In 2012, Petitioner was convicted of additional crimes. In all, Petitioner was sentenced to five definite one-year terms of imprisonment, four of which were imposed to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After an altercation with police officers at a train station, Defendant and his brother fled the scene, leaving a bag on the platform. Based on the bag's contents, Defendant was arrested and charged with second-degree…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs in these cases were judgment debtors whose bank accounts were frozen by judgment creditors in anticipation of enforcement of a money judgment pursuant to N.Y. C.P.L.R. 52. Plaintiffs brought putative class…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in these consolidated criminal appeals was whether, prior to permitting a defendant to plead guilty to a felony, a trial court must inform the defendant, if the defendant is not U.S. citizen, that he or she may…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners were current and former elected officials and appointed officers of the Village of Freeport. In 2008, Water Works Realty Corp. commenced lawsuits against the Village and Petitioners alleging, inter alia,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of sexual abuse in the first degree and endangering the welfare of a child. Prior to Appellant's release from prison, the Department of Correctional Services transferred…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a convicted criminal, was convicted of the class C felony of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and sentenced to three and one-half years in prison for possessing a loaded weapon in his home.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree for possessing a loaded firearm. The count was based on evidence that a loaded gun was found in Defendant's home. With the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant was employed at a secure juvenile detention facility operated by the State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS) when she was assaulted, raped, and abducted by a resident. Claimant received workers'…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested for driving while intoxicated. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence found inside his car, arguing that it was obtained by police during an invalid inventory search. Supreme Court denied the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs here were related entities that leased a building to The Salvation Army. The Salvation Army operated the building as a homeless shelter under an agreement with the City of New York. After the City terminated…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was a land owner seeking to develop property located in the Town of Brookhaven as a site for a Lowe's Home Improvement Center. The Town sought to rezone property that included Appellant's parcel from "J…

Justia Opinion Summary: This consolidated appeal involved cases involving three defendants, each of whom was convicted of "simple" knowing, unlawful possession of a loaded weapon in addition to one or more other criminal counts. In each case,…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in these two consolidated appeals was whether, for purposes of determining the sequentiality of a defendant's current and prior convictions under the State's sentence enhancement statutes, the controlling date…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG) terminated a physician's participation in the Medicaid program on the basis of a Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct (BPMC) consent order, in which the physician…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving. The Appellate Division affirmed. Defendant appealed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested after law enforcement officers noticed him walking on a roadway with wet blood stains on his clothes, hands, and shoes. Because the officers believed a person may have been injured, they continued…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was a lifelong resident of a housing complex operated under the Limited-Profit Housing Companies Act and the Private Housing Finance Law. After Petitioner's parents vacated the apartment, Petitioner filed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner and Ajmal Khan, principal of Verus Investment Holdings, purchased securities in a company to arbitrage a merger between that company and another company (the trade). Petitioner and Khal used Verus' account at…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for various drug offenses. At a Huntley hearing, the county court judge informed the parties that he may have either represented or prosecuted Defendant on unrelated criminal matters in the past,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, the owner of an apartment building, complained when Armory Plaza, the owner of the lot next to Plaintiff's building, began excavating the lot to make way for a new building. The excavation purportedly caused…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Antonio Hroncich was diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases resulting from his employment at the Consolidated Edison Company of N.Y., Inc. (Con Ed). The Workers' Compensation Board granted Hroncich…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of possession of a weapon not in his home or place of business and sentenced to a term of imprisonment. The Appellate Division affirmed. Appellant appealed, arguing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs challenged the facial constitutionality of N.Y. Pub. Health Law 2808(5)(c), which prohibits the withdrawal or transfer of residential health care facility equity or assets in amount exceeding three percent of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant owned a part-time residence in New York but intended to make Louisiana his primary residence. Appellant applied for a New York State pistol/revolver license pursuant to N.Y. Penal Law 400.00 and inquired…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was convicted of second degree forgery and sentenced to a term of probation. One of the conditions of Respondent's probation was a requirement that he submit to random drug testing. Appellant, a drug testing…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of intentional murder and second-degree weapon possession. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial judge committed mode of proceedings errors by departing from the protocol…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the offense of manslaughter. The Appellate Division affirmed. At issue on appeal was whether Defendant's trial counsel was ineffective for failing to use a peremptory…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a patient in the psychiatric ward of a medical center, was convicted of assault in the first and second degree based on an incident in which he assaulted and severely injured another psychiatric patient. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an employee of a commercial cleaning company, was injured after falling from a ladder while providing janitorial services for a retail store. Plaintiff was dusting a display shelf when he fell. Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Suffolk County Legislature imposed term limits on county officials, including the district attorney. Respondent, who was elected district attorney in 2001, was designated as a candidate in the upcoming primary…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was a State employee. Suspecting that Petitioner was submitting false time reports, the State attached a global positioning system (GPS) device to Petitioner's car. After a report by the Inspector General…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an action against Defendants, a medical doctor and his practice, for medical malpractice after the doctor failed to remove a localization guide wire during a biopsy of part of Plaintiff's lung. After a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, who was seventeen years old at the time, was charged with several counts of felony drug possession. Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were employed by Defendant, which operated floating dry docks where workers repaired and maintained vessels for tug and barge companies and for the City of New York. Plaintiffs sued Defendant and its sureties…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under N.Y. Labor Law 196-d, an employer's "agent" may not retain tips. Two former Starbucks baristas brought a putative class action in the U.S. district court alleging that Starbucks' policy of allowing shift…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, who was severely intoxicated, arrived at the emergency room of a hospital, where he sought admission to Defendant's detoxification facility. Defendant was accepted to the program, and, four hours after his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In these two unrelated cases, Defendants were resentenced because the sentencing court failed to impose mandatory postrelease supervision (PRS) as part of the original sentence. Defendants appealed, concluding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of burglary in the first degree and robbery in the second degree. Defendant appealed, arguing that his arrest was illegal, and therefore, his subsequent lineup identification as the perpetrator of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with second-degree assault based on a confrontation with Complainant. After a Sandoval hearing, the People received permission to cross-examine Defendant about his recent rape conviction, still…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Attorney General (AG) sued two of the former officers of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), alleging that Defendants violated the Martin Act and committed common law fraud. Specifically, the AG claimed that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Twelve-year-old Tiffany had a seizure followed by cardiac arrest. Two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) employed by New York City arrived in response to Tiffany's mother's 911 call and began performing CPR on Tiffany…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of depraved indifference murder of a child and manslaughter in the first degree. The appellate division affirmed. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) a rational jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were two limited liability companies that made loans to Goldan, LLC. Goldan failed to repay the loans. Plaintiffs later discovered that their mortgages had not been recorded as agreed upon. Plaintiffs sued…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner commenced a N.Y. Real Prop. Tax Law 7 proceeding challenging the valuation by the City of Syracuse's Board of Assessment Review of five houses near Syracuse University used as rental housing for college…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notified Bear Stearns & Co. and Bear Stearns Securities Corp. of its intention to charge Bear Stearns with violations of federal securities laws. Bear Stearns agreed…

Justia Opinion Summary: This mortgage foreclosure action arose from a failed redevelopment of a hotel complex. The complex consisted of several interconnected properties, including the hotel property, a tower building, and another building. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Wicks Law requires public entities seeking bids on construction contracts to obtain separate specifications for three subdivisions of the work to be performed. Until 2008 when the law was amended to raise the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, School District announced to its faculty and staff, who were represented by Union, that the district's practice of reimbursing Medicare Part B premiums of retirees sixty-five years or older would be terminated.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree and sentenced to twenty-five years to life. Defendant moved to vacate the conviction, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective for, among…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal possession in the second degree. Defendant appealed the denial of his motion to suppress the weapon obtained during a search, arguing that the manner in which a…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the constitutionality of the HAIL Act, which regulates medallion taxicabs and livery vehicles. The Act's stated aim is to address certain mobility deficiencies in the City of New York.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree. Defendant appealed, challenging his custodial interrogation that lasted almost fifty hours. Defendant's previously filed motion to suppress was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested for robbery. An attorney from the Legal Aid Society represented Defendant at trial. Prior to opening statements, defense counsel alerted the court to a possible conflict of interest arising from…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with sex-related crimes. In his summation, defense counsel argued that parts of Complainant's testimony were incredible because a statement Complainant gave to a police officer who responded to her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Empire Zones Program Act offered state tax incentives designed to enhance business development in the state. In 2009, the program was amended to introduce two new criteria businesses must meet to retain their…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with intentional murder and second-degree weapon possession. Defendant's first trial resulted in a hung jury and mistrial. Defendant was re-tried, and the jury convicted Defendant as charged. After…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with burglary in the second degree and grand larceny in the third degree for stealing property from the apartment of Complainants, a husband and wife. The wife spoke Cantonese. Prior to her…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued a number of corporations and an individual, Ariq Vanunu, alleging that he had provided telephone service to Defendants pursuant to a written agreement and had not been paid. The complaint alleged that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs purchased furniture from the Fortunoff Department Store. Along with the furniture, Plaintiffs purchased a protection plan. The plan was a contract in which Valspar Corporation agreed to provide service for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wife and Husband were married in 1997. A week before the wedding, they each separately signed a prenuptial agreement. Neither party was present when the other executed the document, and the signatures were witnessed by…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were convicted of conspiracy in the second degree and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree for their respective roles in a drug-trafficking operation involving the movement of 400…

Justia Opinion Summary: A minor plaintiff commenced a civil action against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and one of its priests alleging sexual molestation by the priest. The Diocese settled the action for $2 million and additional…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged by felony complaint with numerous crimes relating to Defendant's procurement of loans to purchase properties using the personal identifying information of four mortgage loan applicants. Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was an inmate in the custody of the State Department of Corrections and Correctional Services (DOCCS). In 2010, Respondent undertook a month-long hunger strike, contending that he had ceased eating in order to…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from efforts of Verizon New England to collect a judgment awarded in 2009 by the U.S. district court against Global NAPs (GNAPs). Verizon served a restraining notice on GNAPs and companies with which it…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured when the van she was driving hit a cow on a public road. Plaintiff brought a personal injury action against the owner of the property where the cow was kept and the two men who may have owned the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of murder in the second degree. After retaining a new attorney for his appeal, Defendant moved to set aside the verdict, arguing that his trial counsel was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands obtained two tax judgments in the U.S. district court against the Millars for unpaid taxes. The Millards, who previously resided in the Commonwealth, relocated before the…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved three defendants, who were charged with multiple counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance. In each case, the trial court concluded that the courtroom should be closed to the general public…

Justia Opinion Summary: Father was an inmate in New York's correctional system. Father, who had acknowledged paternity of a child prior to his imprisonment, sought visitation with the child, who was then three years old, after Mother refused to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree robbery pursuant to a plea agreement. Defendant subsequently moved to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging, among other things, that the sentence promise was deficient…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner served as family court judge for twenty-seven years. The catalyst for Petitioner's resignation was the allegation that, in 1972, Petitioner engaged in sexual misconduct involving a five-year-old girl.…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a hearing, the family court determined that Father and Mother abused their two-year-old child and that they neglected and derivatively abused three of their other children. The family court dismissed the petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners were paraprofessionals employed in the New York City schools and were defendants in civil suits brought by students who alleged that Petitioners hit them. Petitioners did not dispute the actions they were…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant, an accountant, was convicted of one count of second-degree larceny and several counts second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument (CPFI), forty of which related to checks…

Justia Opinion Summary: Upon Defendant's arraignment on charges of attempted robbery and robbery, the Legal Aid Society was assigned as Defendant's counsel. The Legal Aid Society later requested an adjournment date that would allow for a new…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, the City of Yonkers and Yonkers Fire Fighters entered into a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Pursuant to the CBA, the City offered its firefighters the option of enrolling in retirement plans in which the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff suffered symptoms that resulted from an aneurysm in a blood vessel near his brain. The aneurysm went undetected until it ruptured twenty days later, causing a severe stroke that left Plaintiff permanently…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs in this case were Amazon.com and Overstock.com. Both companies were formed in states other than New York, were located in states other than New York, and sold their merchandise solely through the Internet. At…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with assaulting three deputy sheriffs while he was an inmate in county jail. At trial, Defendant testified that one deputy, Saeva, had started the physical fight. Defendant also denied kicking at or…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for second-degree kidnapping, two counts of second-degree weapon possession, and first-degree reckless endangerment. Defendant pled guilty to the charges. On appeal, Defendant sought reversal of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Complainant, a sitting Rochester City Court Judge, accused Defendant of sending her three offensive text messages. Defendant was charged with two misdemeanor counts of aggravated harassment in the second degree. A…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Defendant formed a partnership by oral agreement. Defendant later withdrew from the venture after Plaintiff refused his demand for majority ownership of the partnership. Plaintiff sued Defendant for breach…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a warrant executed in May 2009, law enforcement found a single pornographic image of a child on Defendant's computer. In September 2009, Defendant pled guilty to possessing a sexual performance of a child. In…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child. The appellate division reversed and remitted the matter for a new…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with various sex crimes pertaining to separate incidents involving two twelve-year-old girls. During the trial, the People presented the testimony of an expert witness on the subject of child sexual…

Justia Opinion Summary: M&T Real Estate Trust foreclosed on commercial mortgages executed by Defendant. After a public auction, the referee sold M&T the property. M&T's attorney twice declined to accept or retain physical possession of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant sustained a back injury while employed by Respondent. Claimant applied for and received workers' compensation benefits. Later, Claimant entered a plea of guilty to insurance fraud in the fourth degree by…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a joint trial with his co-defendant, Defendant was convicted on an accomplice theory of reckless endangerment in the first degree and attempted murder in the first degree. The appellate division affirmed. The Court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Defendant were adjoining landowners. Defendant sought to develop a residential subdivision on his land. The Town approved a plan that required water from the west side of the development to flow into a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Whites signed a contract to buy the Farrells' property and tendered a $25,000 deposit. The Whites later terminated the contract due to a faulty "drainage situation." The Whites subsequently sued the Farrells to…

Justia Opinion Summary: These three cases stemmed from a residency policy that called for employees of the City of Niagara Falls School District hired or promoted after the policy's effective date to reside in the City and maintain residency…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of attempted robbery, menacing, and possession of a weapon. Defendant appealed, arguing that the People violated N.Y. Crim. Proc. 710.30, which Defendant argued entitled him to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Bath Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD), a not-for-profit fire corporation, obtained its own financing for the construction of a new firehouse and hired Petitioner as the general contractor. The Department of Labor…

Justia Opinion Summary: After his vehicle was stopped by a police officer, Defendant was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and a breathalyzer test computed his blood alcohol content at close to twice the legal limit. Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: A building zone ordinance of the Town of Hemptead provided that in any use district, with the exception of two districts, check-cashing establishments were expressly prohibited. In a memorandum supporting the provision,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Cammeby's Funding LLC (Cam Funding) and Fundamental Long Term Care Holdings LLC (Fundamental) entered into an option agreement entitling Cam Funding to acquire one-third of Fundamental's membership units for a strike…

Justia Opinion Summary: In one agreement, Cammeby's Equity Holdings LLC (Cam Equity) received an option to acquire 99.99 percent of the ownership units of SVCare at the strike price of $100 million. In a second agreement, Cammeby's Funding III…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was a tenant in a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing apartment. After Petitioner became employed, she failed to disclose her new earnings to her landlord, an omission that allowed her to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant and three codefendants - Eric Young, Marvin Howard and Nathaniel Williams - were jointly indicted on a theory of accomplice liability for second-degree murder and second-degree weapon possession. Young and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Sex Offender and Registration Act (SORA), offenders are assessed fifteen points if they have a history of drug or alcohol abuse or if they were abusing drugs or alcohol at the time of their sex offense. At…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. Defendant pleaded guilty to all three counts. At the time…

Justia Opinion Summary: An insurance company (USF&G), having settled asbestos claims for nearly a billion dollars, sought to recover a share of its settlement payment from its reinsurers. Supreme Court granted summary judgment to USF&G. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Plaintiff's father (Decedent) collapsed and at a health club owned and operated by Bally Total Fitness of Greater New York, Inc. (Bally). Ambulance personnel administered shocks to Decedent with an automatic…

Justia Opinion Summary: Following a verbal exchange between Defendant and a police officer in which Defendant swore at the officer and accused the officer of harassing him, Defendant was arrested for disorderly conduct. In a search incident to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After falling on the street and injuring her leg, Plaintiff commenced this negligence action against Communications Specialists, Inc. (CSI) for creating a hazardous condition in the road by failing to properly pave over…