FindLaw Opinion Summaries - NY COA

People v. Colon

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence, Sentencing) In an appeal from a denial of defendants' motion under Criminal Procedure Law section 440.10 to vacate their murder convictions, the order is reversed where the prosecutor failed to correct a witness's misleading testimony and, in addition, compounded these errors by repeating and emphasizing the misinformation during summation, and there was a reasonable probability that this affected the jury's verdict.

Godfrey v. Spano

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Constitutional Law, Family Law, Government Benefits, Government Law, Labor & Employment Law) In a state constitutional challenge to two directives by executive and county officials that recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages for purposes of public employee health insurance coverage and other benefits, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where plaintiffs failed to specify a circumstance where taxpayer funds were expended as a result of the executive order at issue that would not have been expended in the absence of the order.

Lee v. Astoria Generating Co.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Admiralty, Government Benefits, Injury And Tort Law, Labor & Employment Law) In an action for indemnification arising out of an accident that occurred on navigable waters, the Appellate Division's order reversing summary judgment for defendants is reversed where a barge containing an electricity generating turbine is a vessel under 33 U.S.C. section 905(b) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, and that provision preempted plaintiff's New York State Labor Law sections 240(1) and 241(6) claims.

Walton v. N.Y. State Dept. of Corr. Servs.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Civil Rights, Communications Law, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law & Procedure, Government Contracts, Government Law) In an action alleging that the portion of a telephone charge for collect calls from inmates that was allocated as a commission to the department of corrections violated the New York Constitution, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where: 1) the collection of the commission did not constitute a tax; 2) the practice was not a "taking" in the absence of government compulsion; and 3) plaintiffs failed to establish that the commission bore no reasonable relationship to legitimate penological aims.

People v. Brown

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence) Defendant's rape conviction is affirmed where defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation was not violated by the introduction of a DNA report processed by a subcontractor laboratory to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) through the testimony of a forensic biologist from OCME, because the report was not testimonial and therefore was not hearsay.

People v. Gillyard

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence) Defendant's criminal impersonation conviction is affirmed where the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a handcuff key to show familiarity and access to the tools of the charged crime, but the evidence of defendant's guilt was overwhelming.

Snyder v. Bronfman

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Contracts, Injury And Tort Law) In an action to recover the value of plaintiff's services in helping to achieve a corporate acquisition, dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where plaintiff's quantum meruit and unjust enrichment claims were barred by the statute of frauds contained in General Obligations Law section 5-701 (a)(10).

Hargett v. Ticonderoga

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Attorney's Fees, Government Law, Property Law & Real Estate) In petitioner's appeal from an award of attorney's fees to respondent in an Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL) proceeding, the order is affirmed where EDPL section 702(B) provides for reimbursement of attorney's fees and costs when a condemnee successfully challenges a condemnor's authority to acquire real property in proceedings pursuant to EDPL section 207(A).

People v. Alemany

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Sentencing) Defendant's attempted rape sentence is affirmed where a hearing court may assess risk factor points to a defendant under the Sex Offender Registration Act where there was clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was undomiciled and lacked any history of living in shelters or community ties.

People v. D'Alessandro

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Habeas Corpus) In a petition to the Appellate Division for a writ of error coram nobis on the ground that petitioner's appellate counsel had been ineffective for failing to raise a speedy trial argument on appeal, the denial of the petition is reversed where the Appellate Division incorrectly construed the petition as seeking reargument.

Save the Pine Bush, Inc. v. Albany

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Administrative Law, Construction, Environmental Law, Property Law & Real Estate) In an action challenging a city's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) determination regarding a proposed municipal project, the Appellate Division's order annulling the determination is reversed where: 1) a person who can prove that he or she uses and enjoys a natural resource more than most other members of the public has standing under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) to challenge government actions that threaten that resource; and 2) the government was not required to scrutinize every possible environmental issue, and the failure of the city's environmental impact statement to discuss the possible impact of rezoning on certain rare species was therefore not a fatal flaw.

People v. Abney

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:02 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence) In consolidated appeals from criminal trials in which the court prohibited defendants from introducing expert testimony on the reliability of eyewitness identification, the trial court's order in one matter is affirmed where there was substantial evidence inculpating defendant apart from the eyewitness testimony. However, the order in the other matter is reversed where the trial judge should have conducted a Frye hearing before making a decision on admissibility.

IDT Corp. v. Tyco Group

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:01 PDT

(N.Y., Commercial Law, Communications Law, Contracts) In a breach of contract action based on defendants' withdrawal from a joint venture to construct a fiber optic communications network, judgment for defendants is affirmed where the parties' settlement agreement made the negotiation and execution of further agreements a pre-condition to the parties' obligation.

Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Props., L.P.

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:01 PDT

(N.Y., Landlord Tenant Law, Property Law & Real Estate, Tax Law) In an action by tenants claiming that their landlords were not entitled to take advantage of the luxury decontrol provisions of the Rent Stabilization Law (RSL) while simultaneously receiving tax incentive benefits under the City of New York's J-51 program, the Appellate Division's order reversing dismissal of the complaint is affirmed where the RSL did not permit defendants to receive both types of benefits.

People v. Arafet

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:01 PDT

(N.Y., Criminal Law & Procedure, Evidence) Defendant's grand theft conviction is affirmed where: 1) one of defendant's prior criminal acts was properly admitted to show his relationship with a fencing operation; and 2) another act was improperly admitted to prove that defendant was an experienced trailer thief, but the error was harmless because fingerprint evidence implicating defendant was overwhelming.