The Second Department enforced a public-construction clause requiring a contractor to perform disputed corrective work first and pursue extra compensation afterward.
The Second Department dismissed constructive-trust and duplicative claims where the complaint alleged no fiduciary relationship or reliance transfer involving the affiliate that received disputed contract funds.
The Second Department held an architect’s broad claim waiver void as against public policy while affirming dismissal of fraud allegations that duplicated the parties’ contract dispute.
The Second Department reinstated vicarious-liability claims against Uber entities because driver-control issues remained disputed, while finding the driver and vehicle owners liable for the rear-end crash.
The Second Department held that the Scaffold Law’s homeowner exemption covered ladder work on a barn that functioned as an extension of a residence and served a substantially residential purpose.
The Second Department held that a Dutch bank’s passive receipt of a fraud-induced wire into a Netherlands account did not establish personal jurisdiction in New York.
The Second Department held that CPLR 3220’s post-offer “expenses” include attorney fees and affirmed an $11,473 award after the plaintiff recovered less than the defendant’s contract-damages offer.
Second Department affirms dismissal of multiple contract claims by adult care facility operator against village: lease assignment in 2012 stripped plaintiffs of standing to sue for breach of lease and its amendments, and those claims were time-barred in any event.
Second Department reverses summary judgment for Toll Brothers developer: general contractor failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to whether it had supervisory authority over concrete delivery operations — that question must go to trial.
Appellate Division affirms that mortgage lien is void as against estate property fraudulently transferred through letters of administration obtained by misrepresentation — bona fide encumbrancer doctrine cannot protect a lender when the chain of title flows through a void (not merely voidable) instrument.
Second Department affirms grant of reargument in OB malpractice case: trial court properly vacated its prior grant of summary judgment after recognizing it had overlooked defendants’ introduction — for the first time in reply — of a new ‘in-house obstetrician’ theory that plaintiff had no chance to rebut.
Second Department reverses vacatur of arbitration award in construction subcontract dispute: arbitrator properly resolved the matter on written submissions after parties agreed to a paper-based process — skipping a scheduled conference call did not constitute a failure to hold a required hearing.
Second Department affirms denial of summary judgment to marine cargo insurer: typewritten ‘floor to floor’ notation in certificate of insurance raised triable issue of fact as to whether coverage extended through forklift delivery to warehouse floor, beyond standard warehouse-to-warehouse clause.
Second Department affirms denial of property owners’ motion to dismiss Labor Law § 240(1) and § 241(6) claims arising from worker’s elevation-related injury during renovation — Scaffold Law claims survive CPLR 3211 and must be addressed through discovery.
Second Department affirms $1.46 million bench trial judgment for contractor: project owner caused the delays, liquidated damages clause was unenforceable, and contractor properly foreclosed mechanic’s lien.
Second Department partially reverses in Child Victims Act case: foster care agency’s negligence and Social Services Law § 413 reporting claims survive summary judgment, but punitive damages are dismissed and school district escapes liability for acts of an agency-employed abuser.
Second Department reverses and dismisses Adult Survivors Act claim against production LLC, holding that a sexual assault in the alleged tortfeasor’s private apartment fell outside the scope of employment and could not support respondeat superior liability against the company.
Second Department reverses and dismisses hostile work environment and religious discrimination claims against faculty union (PSC) and its president, holding that unions have no affirmative duty to prevent workplace harassment because they do not control the employer’s work environment.
Conviction reversed and new trial ordered: trial court required the People to give race-neutral reasons for peremptory challenges — implicitly finding a prima facie Batson case — then erroneously denied the challenge at step 1 without proceeding to pretext analysis at step 3.
Appellate Division affirms dismissal of weapons indictment after finding the DA’s Certificate of Compliance was invalid — failure to disclose police memo books and property vouchers constituted a lack of due diligence under CPL 245, triggering a speedy-trial violation under CPL 30.30.
The Appellate Division, Second Department sustained a habeas writ for a defendant held more than 90 days without a valid certificate of compliance, finding the People’s supplemental CoC deficient because 60-plus automatic discovery items—including mandatory impeachment materials—remained outstanding at the time of filing.
Second Department affirms foreclosure summary judgment and rejects criminal usury counterclaim where defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact that the effective interest rate exceeded the criminal threshold; affirms guaranty enforcement after mortgage assignment.
Second Department reverses CPLR article 53 recognition of a Chinese money judgment as procedurally premature — summary judgment motions to enforce foreign judgments may not be brought before the defendant has answered — and finds State Department country reports insufficient on the due process question.
Second Department affirms stay of UM arbitration where other driver exited vehicle after collision and struck insured taxicab driver with an ashtray: post-collision assault does not “arise out of” the use of an uninsured motor vehicle.