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New York

New York Construction Law Lien Law Real Estate

Appellate Division, First Department

Tekton Bldrs., LLC v. 1232 S. Blvd LLC — First Dept. Affirms Lien Dismissal for Willful Exaggeration but Denies Conditions-Precedent Defense

/ June 23, 2026

The First Department affirmed summary judgment dismissing a contractor’s mechanic’s lien foreclosure claim under New York’s Lien Law willful exaggeration defense after the contractor admitted including over $1 million for work never performed, but denied summary judgment on the owner’s conditions-precedent defense because the parties’ course of conduct raised factual issues about whether notice requirements were waived.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Sarmiento v. Method Gen. Contrs. — First Dept. Reinstates Indemnification Third-Party Claims Despite Owner’s Default Judgment in Labor Law Case

/ June 23, 2026

The First Department reversed a ruling that dismissed an owner and general contractor’s third-party indemnification claims against a subcontractor, holding that a default judgment against defendants is not a merits finding of 100% negligence and does not preclude them from seeking contractual or common-law indemnification from the subcontractor that employed the injured worker.

New York Breach of Contract Civil Procedure Contract Interpretation

Appellate Division, First Department

Newmark Partners, L.P. v. Singer — First Dept. Affirms $3M CPLR 3213 Judgment Where Settlement Agreement Self-Identified as Instrument for Payment of Money Only

/ June 23, 2026

The First Department affirmed a $3 million summary judgment in lieu of complaint, holding that a Rescission and Settlement Agreement that defendants contractually designated as “an Agreement for the payment of money only” qualified for CPLR 3213 treatment and that a Delaware non-reliance clause barred defendants’ fraudulent inducement defense.

New York Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Gomez v. Brookfield Props. One WFC Co. — First Dept. Grants Summary Judgment on Labor Law § 240(1) After Ladder Shifted During Sheetrock Installation

/ June 23, 2026

The First Department reversed and granted plaintiff summary judgment on liability under Labor Law § 240(1) after his testimony that an eight-foot A-frame ladder moved from side to side and caused him to fall while installing sheetrock — rejecting the owner’s argument that contrary hearsay in post-accident reports raised a triable issue.

New York Breach of Contract Fiduciary Duty llc-law

Appellate Division, First Department

DTI-DSIC, LLC v. 930-DSIC, LLC — First Dept. Dismisses Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Contract Claims Against LLC Managing Member for Forced Sale of Defaulting Member’s Interest

/ June 23, 2026

The First Department partially reversed denial of a motion to dismiss, holding that a managing member of a Delaware LLC that exercises its contractual right to force a sale of a defaulting member’s interest and set the sale price is not liable for breach of contract or fiduciary duty — but the LLC itself may be liable for improper deductions from the sale proceeds.

New York Civil Rights Family Law Privacy

Appellate Division, First Department

Taslakian v. Taslakian — First Dept. Holds Audio Recordings Not Covered by NYC Intimate Image Law; GMVA Claims Require Gender Animus, Not Just Abuse

/ June 23, 2026

The First Department dismissed gender-motivated violence and intimate-recording claims in a divorce action, holding that the NYC Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act requires allegations of gender-based animus beyond possessive or jealous conduct, and that both NYC Administrative Code § 10-180 and Civil Rights Law § 52-b apply only to visual depictions — not audio recordings.

New York Personal Injury & Tort premises-liability Real Estate

Appellate Division, First Department

Fuentes v. Parkchester S. Condominium — First Dept. Holds Commercial Tenant Without Sidewalk Duty Entitled to Summary Judgment Without Proving Non-Causation

/ June 23, 2026

A divided First Department reversed the denial of summary judgment for a pharmacy that had no statutory or contractual duty to maintain an abutting sidewalk, holding that once a commercial tenant establishes it had no duty to maintain the sidewalk, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to produce evidence of causation — and proximity of a crack to the tenant’s cellar door is insufficient.

New York Civil Procedure Real Estate

Appellate Division, First Department

Nochi Blue LLC v. Franklin Place Condominium — Single-Member LLC Cannot Reverse-Pierce Its Own Veil to Recover Owner’s Personal Relocation Costs

/ June 18, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department, affirms that a single-member LLC that holds title to a defect-ridden condominium unit cannot recover its individual member’s personal relocation and living expenses by reverse-piercing its own corporate veil—New York disfavors reverse veil-piercing outside bankruptcy and estate contexts—while reinstating the LLC’s claims for investigation costs directly tied to the unit.

New York Employment Personal Injury & Tort Scaffold Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Hernandez v. Bushwick Realty — Ladder Fall Affirmed Under Labor Law § 240(1); Facing Away from Rungs Is Comparative Negligence, Not Sole Proximate Cause

/ June 18, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department, affirms summary judgment for a construction worker who fell when a ladder shifted rapidly, holding that contradictory testimony about the manner of descent is immaterial under Labor Law § 240(1) and that descending a ladder facing away from the rungs constitutes comparative negligence — not a sole-proximate-cause defense — to the Scaffold Law’s absolute liability.

New York Banking & Finance Breach of Contract Securities

Appellate Division, First Department

Vision Biobanc v. Taller — PPM Governance Misrepresentations Support Fraud Claim; Aiding-and-Abetting Theory Dismissed as Duplicative of Direct Fiduciary Duty

/ June 18, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department, allows aiding-and-abetting fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims to proceed against a biotech co-founder/CFO based on false PPM representations about board composition, audit committee, and auditor retention, while dismissing a redundant aiding-and-abetting breach of fiduciary duty claim against a defendant who was himself a primary fiduciary.

New York Breach of Contract Contract Interpretation Securities

Appellate Division, First Department

Leinhardt v. Socure — Fraud Claims Barred by Release; Sophisticated Plaintiff Cannot Invoke Peculiar-Knowledge Exception

/ June 18, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department, reverses and dismisses fraud claims by a former Socure shareholder, holding that broad releases he signed — as a sophisticated attorney who knowingly proceeded without full information — bar the claims as a matter of law and defeat reasonable reliance; defendants awarded attorneys’ fees.

New York Breach of Contract Civil Procedure

Appellate Division, First Department

Michael Gross Diamonds Inc. v. Vaknin — Commercial Division Bench Trial Credibility Finding Affirmed; Prior Conversion Judgment Defeats Diamond Trade Claims

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department unanimously affirmed dismissal of Michael Gross Diamonds Inc.’s claims after a Commercial Division bench trial, deferring to Justice Ostrager’s credibility determination that plaintiff’s principal was ‘unworthy of belief’ — a prior conversion judgment involving the same necklace and the same principal effectively foreclosed plaintiff’s memo-based claims.

New York Civil Procedure Civil Rights

Appellate Division, First Department

Ravich v. City of New York — Attorney Disqualification Under RPC 1.18 Denied; Public Filing of Consultation Emails Waives Privilege

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department affirmed denial of a motion to disqualify an attorney under RPC Rule 1.18 (prospective client rule), holding that plaintiff did not meet the ‘heavy burden’ of showing the current representation was ‘substantially related’ to the prior consultation, and that plaintiff waived attorney-client privilege over consultation emails by filing them publicly on the court docket.

New York Civil Procedure Employment

Appellate Division, First Department

Qi v. Famous Sichuan N.Y. Inc. — Failure to Raise COVID Toll in Original Wage-Claim Motion Bars Renewal; Belated Argument Treated as Improper Reargument

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department affirmed denial of a Labor Law wage-claim plaintiff’s motion to renew his opposition to a statute-of-limitations cross-motion, holding that his failure to raise the COVID-19 Executive Order toll in the original motion — despite knowing about it — converted the renewal attempt into an improper reargument with no appellate remedy.

New York Civil Procedure Employment Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

Amondi v. Promise Home Care Agency — Adult Survivors Act Revives Expired Assault Claims; Default Vacated on Detailed Law-Office-Failure Showing

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department affirmed vacatur of a procedural default and permission to file an amended complaint alleging sexual assault claims revived by the Adult Survivors Act (CPLR 214-j), holding that expired assault and battery claims are properly revived when the underlying conduct constitutes a ‘sexual offense’ under Penal Law article 130.

New York Civil Procedure Family Law

Appellate Division, First Department

Matter of Gc.M. — Family Court Sexual Abuse Finding Affirmed; Out-of-Court Statements Adequately Corroborated by Behavioral Evidence and Respondent Admissions

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department unanimously affirmed Family Court’s finding that appellant sexually abused D.C. and derivatively abused three other children in his care, holding that the child’s out-of-court statements were adequately corroborated by consistent prior disclosures, behavioral changes, and the respondent’s own admissions — no expert witness or physical injury evidence required.

New York Attorney Discipline Civil Procedure

Appellate Division, First Department

Matter of Chilliest — Four-Year Suspension for Estate Fund Misappropriation; Rule 8.4(h) Applies Alongside Rule 1.15 Violations

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department imposed a four-year suspension on an attorney who misappropriated estate sale proceeds, commingled client funds, and failed to maintain required bookkeeping records, and clarified that RPC Rule 8.4(h) applies cumulatively alongside Rule 1.15 violations — not merely as a catch-all for conduct not otherwise covered.

New York Civil Procedure Lien Law Real Estate

Appellate Division, First Department

Matter of 170 W. End Ave. Owners Corp. — Mechanic’s Lien Extinguished After One-Year Deadline; No Vacatur Can Revive Expired Lien

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department unanimously affirmed extinguishment of a mechanic’s lien under Lien Law §17 after the elevator contractor failed to foreclose within one year, holding that CPLR 321(c) automatic substitution did not apply (counsel died before proceedings began) and that a conclusory law-office-failure excuse cannot vacate a default when the lien has already expired by operation of law.

New York Banking & Finance Civil Procedure Real Estate

Appellate Division, First Department

Rouge v. U.S. Bank Trust N.A. — FAPA Bars Mortgage Lender’s Toll Claim; Six-Year Statute of Limitations Extinguishes Note and Mortgage

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department affirmed cancellation of a $786,450 mortgage and promissory note under RPAPL 1501(4), holding that FAPA’s retroactive elimination of the RPAPL 1301(3) toll bars lenders from claiming extra limitations time during the pendency of a prior foreclosure action — constitutional challenges to FAPA’s retroactivity rejected.

New York Civil Procedure Real Estate Rent Stabilization

Appellate Division, First Department

Laspina v. 340 E. 198th St. LLC — Pre-HSTPA Lease Signed but Commencing on HSTPA’s Effective Date Leaves Apartment Rent-Stabilized

/ June 16, 2026

The First Department reversed and granted tenants summary judgment, holding that a vacancy lease signed before but commencing on the HSTPA’s June 14, 2019 effective date is subject to rent stabilization — execution date is irrelevant; the commencement date controls whether the HSTPA’s repeal of luxury deregulation applies.

New York Civil Procedure Labor Law Personal Injury & Tort

Appellate Division, First Department

DePhillips v. Tishman Construction — Labor Law §241(6) Upheld for Snowy Staircase Fall

/ June 16, 2026

The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed Labor Law §241(6) liability for a construction worker who slipped on a snow-covered staircase, and held that joint-venture partners and investor entities with site-management authority qualify as ‘owners’ subject to strict Scaffold Law liability.

New York Breach of Contract Business Law Civil Procedure

Appellate Division, First Department

Napolitano v. Bounce 21 — ABC Law § 126 Violation Does Not Void Consulting Agreement Under Illegality Doctrine

/ June 11, 2026

First Department reinstates a consultant’s claims against a sports bar, holding that ABC Law § 126(1) — a malum prohibitum regulation — does not automatically void a profit-sharing consulting agreement under New York’s illegality doctrine absent evidence the contract required an illegal act to be performed.

New York Business Law Civil Procedure Corporate Governance

Appellate Division, First Department

Kaye v. Merchant Factors Corp. — Director Removal Valid Under Original By-Laws Even Though Amended By-Laws Were Never Ratified

/ June 11, 2026

First Department affirms dismissal of a director’s reinstatement claim, holding that board removal for cause was valid under the corporation’s original by-laws — which remained in effect after amended by-laws failed to obtain required shareholder approval — and that citing the wrong by-law provision in the meeting notice was not a fatal defect.

New York Breach of Contract commercial-lease Contract Interpretation

Appellate Division, First Department

501 Fifth Avenue Co. v. Frawley — Asset Purchase Agreement Did Not Transfer Real Property Lease, Buyer Not Liable for Rent

/ June 11, 2026

First Department affirms summary judgment for business buyers, holding that an asset purchase agreement covering ‘leases of personal property and equipment’ did not assume the former tenant’s commercial real estate lease, which required an express assumption under New York contract interpretation principles.