Construction in New York City often leads to the long-term installation of façade scaffolding and sidewalk sheds that interfere with access to street-level commercial properties. Needless to say, as a recent case illustrates, scaffolding and a sidewalk shed are combustible ingredients for litigation, especially where the pandemic delays the completion of construction. Steven and Shulie Kirschner are shareholders in a co-op located at 233 West 99th Street in Manhattan. They have a proprietary lease for the commercial space located on the ground floor of the co-op. The Kirschners claimed that the Board erected a sidewalk shed on August 31, 2019,… Read more

Alec Baldwin is famous for his stage and screen accomplishments and Trump cameos on SNL- but he is also (like Paris Hilton) “famous for being famous”– because his name is always in the news. And, as a recent case illustrates, Baldwin once again became “newsworthy” because of a defamation suit for statements he made in television interviews about a mid-town Manhattan parking space fracas for which he pled guilty to a low-level offense (a decision in the slander suit coming shortly after his celebrity/actor/yoga instructor/podcaster wife, Hilaria, gave birth to their sixth child in seven+ years). Wojciech Cieszkowski claimed he… Read more

Our Courts regularly and routinely resolve mundane and general differences between Federal and State Law (e.g. the FAA v. the CPLR). But, as a recent case illustrates, the Court is sometimes confronted with more unusual and specific conflicts of law. The Unkechaug Indian Nation is an Indian tribe recognized by the State of New York, which occupies the Poospatuck Reservation in Suffolk County. In this action, the Nation sought a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction enforcing the Tribal Council’s April 12, 2018 decision and order confirming the right of Curtis C. Treadwell, a blood-right member of the Nation, to… Read more

Questions presented: Was it proper for Supreme Court to annul the determination by the Board of Standards and Appeals to approve a new 55-story condominium building at 200 Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side of Manhattan? For Supreme Court to direct the demolition of an unspecified number of floors from the building? And were legal proceeding moot because the building was substantially completed and the Committee of Environmentally Sound Development and the Municipal Art Society of New York failed to exercise continued due diligence to halt the project by not seeking injunctive relief at every stage of the protracted… Read more

Roof access and use are among the most sought after, valuable, and fiercely protected amenities of residential coop living. As a recent case illustrates, litigation can go “nuclear” when roof rights are impacted by an imposing change. Soho Plaza is a 34-unit “pre-war” coop that installed an eight-ton central (“chiller”) air conditioning unit on the roof directly above the penthouse owned by Richard and Cecilia Burbridge– who contended that the chiller made leaks into the penthouse significantly worse. After years of litigation, a long bench trial with numerous exhibits, multiple witnesses, including experts, and a 120-page post-trial brief, the Court… Read more

Was Grandparent Member of  Grandchild’s Immediate Family? Answer Dispositive of Bystander “Zone of Danger” Claim The question presented: may a grandparent, who was in close proximity to her grandchild at the time of the death-producing accident, pursue a claim for bystander recovery under a “zone of danger” theory? The “zone of danger” rule to “allow[s] one who is . . . threatened with bodily harm in consequence of the defendant’s negligence to recover for emotional distress” flowing only from the “viewing [of] the death or serious physical injury of a member of [that person’s] immediate family”. Unsettled were “the outer limits”… Read more

Was “Mike” Bloomberg  Personally Liable For Alleged Transgressions of Supervisor at His Eponymous Firm? Court of Appeals Addresses Question of  Owner/Leaders Vicarious Liability Under NYC Human Rights Law GARCIA,  J. : An employee of Bloomberg L.P., using the pseudonym “Margaret Doe,” sued Bloomberg L.P., her supervisor Nicholas Ferris, and Michael Bloomberg, asserting several causes of action arising from alleged discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse. The question before the Court of Appeals was whether Bloomberg, in addition to Bloomberg L.P., could be held vicariously liable as an employer under the New York City Human Rights Law based on his status… Read more

Mundane business transactions involving relatively small amounts may nevertheless raise a variety of factual and legal issues. And, as a recent case illustrates, what started as a garden variety case arising out of the consignment of a Persian rug to a dealer became a far more complicated dispute with the passage of time. Jahanshah Josh Nazimayal and Rugs and Kilim Corp. are carpet dealers. Peter Lentz owns a Persian Mahal rug. Pursuant to a consignment agreement dated June 21, 2011, Nazimayal and Kilim acknowledged receiving Lentz’s rug and agreed to try to sell it for a 20% commission. The agreement,… Read more