Would Court Enforce Restrictive Covenants? ASAPP, Inc. applied to the Court for a preliminary injunction enjoining Samuel Rowbotham from commencing employment with or otherwise providing consulting services to ASAPP’s competitor, Cresta Intelligence, Inc., for a period of one year. Rowbotham opposed the motion. Rowbotham served as a Director of Strategic Accounts at ASAPP, a technology company with approximately 300 employees whose software is designed to improve customer and employee experiences at call centers. ASAPP hired Rowbotham in April 2021, and he began work in May 2021. In connection with his employment, on May 5, 2021, Rowbotham signed an Employee Proprietary… Read more

Did Mark Deed Over Rights or Was He Ousted of Possession? Mark Belli sought the partition and sale of real property located at 466 76th Street in Brooklyn, claiming that he owned a 12.5% interest and that Belli, LLC, a limited liability company of which his brother Paul Belli was the sole member, owned an 87.5% interest. The LLC interposed an answer and asserted counterclaims, to quiet title, contending that Mark had transferred his interest in the property to Paul, who then transferred his interest to the LLC, or, alternatively, that the LLC had acquired title to the property by… Read more

Were Brooklyn Property Purchase Rights Abrogated by Passage of Time? A real estate contract vendee had the right to purchase a parcel in Brooklyn. But that right was subject to a third-party’s right of first refusal to buy the lot. As a recent case illustrates, the Court was required to navigate those concurrent provisions after several years of failure to close on the contract, on the one hand, or exercise of the right of first refusal, on the other. On January 17, 2017, Parkway Trading Group Corp. commenced an action for specific performance against Yehuda Blesofsky, alleging that, on or… Read more

Was Operator of Site Negligent and Liable? In July 2018, Jessica Rooney sustained injuries when she slipped on a rock located on an access path while attempting to reach the Battenkill River to go water tubing. Rooney filed a negligence action against Battenkill River Sports & Campground Holding Co, LLC, the company that rented her the tube and shuttled her by van to the river’s access point. Battenkill moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the basis that it did not owe or breach any duty to Rooney and that her claim was barred by the doctrine of primary… Read more

Court Decides Whether/ Which of a Dozen Claims Survives Motion to Dismiss Andrea Coulter entered into an intimate relationship with Carl Sorenson, eighteen years her senior, in 2008 when she was 25 years old. Sorenson was a businessman who owned Nanz Custom Hardware, LLC., a substantial enterprise which manufactured and sold high-end custom-made metal hardware products used in the construction of residential and commercial properties. During the course of their decade-long relationship, Coulter and Sorenson lived together at more than one of Sorenson’s homes. At some point during the course of the relationship, Coulter started working, allegedly without compensation, for… Read more

Did Girlfriend Have Defense to Estate’s Civil Suit? On April 19, 2015, Vincent A Viafore and Angelika Graswald were kayaking in separate kayaks in the Hudson River in Orange County, New York. The weather that day was cold and windy, with water temperature in the 40’s. Viafore was not wearing a life vest or a wet suit. Viafore and Graswald entered the Hudson River from Plum Point Park in Orange County and went to what is commonly known as “Bannermans Island,” an island in the Hudson River slightly southeast of the Plum Point. The couple spent about two hours hiking… Read more

Was Operator Liable for “Excessive Swivel” Injury? Jeanine Monticello brought an action for injuries sustained on May 22, 2018, from an alleged trip and fall on a swivel chair on the main floor of the casino owned by Monticello Raceway Management, Inc. located at Route 17B, Monticello. Jeanine died on July 16, 2019, and her husband, Charles Cimorelli, Jr., was appointed administrator of her estate. The estate sued Monticello and alleged that the swivel chairs were not properly secured to the floor and that the chair had “excess swivel.” Monticello moved for summary judgment in that the alleged defective condition was open and obvious… Read more

Court Decides if Viable Claim is Asserted Maria Grajeda sued Karin Hablo, as administrator of the estate of David B. Sulyma, after an incident involving a dog attack on September 20, 2014 in front of the Grajedas’ home in Chester, New York. On September 20, 2014, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Maria Grajeda was on her front porch with her two dogs, Charlie and Sandy. David B. Sulyma lived next door with his two golden retrievers. Sulyma’s two golden retrievers approached Grajeda’s porch and started barking at her dogs. Sandy ran to the door of Grajeda’s home, and was let inside. As… Read more

Was Decedent “Visibly Intoxicated ”At Time He Was Served Drinks So As To Implicate Dram Act Liability? The New York Alcoholic Beverage Law prohibits the sale of liquor to an intoxicated person. The Dram Shop Act creates a private civil cause of action against those who overserve drinks in favor of third-parties who suffer personal injuries as a result of a violation of the ABC Law. But to trigger Dram Shop liability a claimant must establish that the miscreant was “visibly intoxicated”—a fact and case specific burden. Michael Stanley, Thomas Kelly, and five other men met at the home of Thomas… Read more

Was “Emergency Doctrine” a Defense? Andrew DiNatale sued to recover damages for injuries he allegedly sustained on April 29, 2015 while riding a bicycle. He was struck by a motor vehicle owned by Mac Mechanical Conveyor (MCC) and operated by Nicholas Gerbano. DiNatale moved for partial summary judgment in his favor as to MMC/Gerbano’s negligence, arguing that their actions were the sole proximate cause of the accident. DiNatale also sought an order striking their affirmative defenses related to “negligence liability.” In support of the motion, DiNatale submitted his own affidavit, various photographs, and a certified copy of an MV-104A police… Read more