Zucker v. Porteck Global Services, Inc., et al., 13-CV-2674 (E.D.N.Y. October 23, 2015) Officers of two health care companies defeated Plaintiff’s attempt to amend a Class Action Complaint to name them as defendants. United States District Judge Joanna Seybert denied Plaintiff’s motion to amend due to Plaintiff’s lack of diligence and inordinate delay, and the…

Hutchinson v. Sheridan Hill House Corp., __ N.Y.3d __ (October 20, 2015) After almost twenty years, the New York Court of Appeals has revisited the trivial defect defense. Rather that break new ground, the Court reinforced its holdings in the seminal trivial defect case, Trincere v. County of Suffolk, 90 N.Y.2d 976 (1997). The Court…

A recent amendment to New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3212 (b) makes it easier to use affidavits of previously undisclosed experts in motions for summary judgment. The amendment, which was signed into law by Governor Cuomo and went into effect on December 11, 2015, provides, “Where an expert affidavit is submitted in support…

By Steven M. Berlin, Esq. and Kamilah Mitchell, Esq. Five new laws that will have significant effects on employers throughout New York State take effect January 19, 2016. Signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo with some fanfare, they are further efforts designed to achieve pay equity for women, remove barriers to remedying discrimination, end family status…

By James E. Kimmel, Esq. In an important decision on the discoverability of information posted to social media the Appellate Division, First Department, reversed a lower court order directing production of certain information from a Facebook account. However, a dissent may portend a future re-examination of the Court’s decisions in this area. In Forman v.…

By Steven M. Berlin, Esq. and Michael Goldwasser Effective this New Year, the growing community of New Brunswick, in the central part of New Jersey near Edison and Woodbridge, enacted its own paid sick leave ordinance with the aim of reducing public and private health care costs, promoting preventative health care and preventing opportunities for…

By Steven M. Berlin, Esq. and Karen Hart, Esq. It was not until the start of the New Year, when employers began to learn about an unprecedented Christmas Eve gift-to workers-from the National Labor Relations Board. Building upon its activity in recent years of striking down employer’s handbook policies, the NLRB found certain policies that…

By Steven M. Berlin, Esq. and Karen Hart, Esq. The New Year started off in New Jersey with final regulations intended to clarify the Opportunity to Compete Act (OTCA), better known as New Jersey’s “Ban-the-Box” law. The regulations were released on December 7, 2015 by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. OTCA…

VGFC Realty II, LLC v. D’Angelo, et al., Index No. 28211/2011 (Sup.Ct. Queens Cty. February 2, 2016) A Queens Court granted a defendant’s motion for summary judgment, declaring that the insurer does not have a duty to defend or indemnify named insured property lessee in an underlying lawsuit. The action concerned claims for insurance coverage…

By Thomas R. Maeglin, Esq. A customer of a clothing store in a mall slips on a berry and falls. The store does not sell berries, there is no fruit in the area, and no one is seen eating in the vicinity. There is no evidence that the store had actual or constructive notice of…