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A fiduciary is a person who acts on behalf of another and is legally required to act in that person’s best interest. The administrator of a trust or estate is a fiduciary and owes an obligation to the beneficiaries of the trust or estate as well as the estate’s creditors. Where a fiduciary has engaged … Read more
A certificate of insurance summarizes the terms of coverage under an insurance policy. Typically, it is issued by the insurance company or a broker. While it is generally used to confirm insurance coverage to a third party, a certificate of insurance does not guarantee coverage by itself. The terms of the insurance contract govern the … Read more
New York State Public Health Law § 2164 requires that children from the ages of two months to 18 years, must be immunized from certain diseases, including measles, if they wish to attend school or a child-care facility. The law permitted two exemptions, one for medical reasons and the other, a religious exemption which only required … Read more
An easement gives a party the right to use someone else’s property usually for a specific purpose. Examples include allowing utilities to run sewer lines under the property or permitting a neighbor to cross the property line in order to access a road. These rights are granted in a legal document such as a deed, … Read more
Employers are responsible for protecting employees from sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace under federal, New York State and New York City laws. While the business itself may be liable for the unlawful actions of its employees, generally, individuals associated with the business’s ownership or management are not personally liable under the law. This … Read more
Generally, defamation law prohibits someone from making a false statement of fact about a person that harms his or her reputation. Usually, a plaintiff has to prove special damages (the loss of something having economic or pecuniary value) in order to prevail. However, in a claim for defamation per se, the false statements are deemed … Read more
An insurance application typically requires applicants to answer several questions which allow the insurance company to assess whether it will provide insurance and, if so, how much it will charge. Applicants must be careful about how they respond because if they lie or make a “material misrepresentation” they risk losing coverage. It is well-settled law … Read more
The general rule in New York is that consequential damages are not available to a seller of residential real estate when the purchaser breaches the contract of sale. Consequential damages are damages that result from a breach of contract but would not necessarily occur to every injured party; they are due to an injured party’s … Read more
In New York, the Business Corporation Law (“BCL”) allows a shareholder who owns 50 percent of a corporation to seek dissolution of the business on various grounds. In a somewhat renowned case in legal circles, litigation between the two shareholders of the law firm Cellino & Barnes, P.C. (the “P.C”) addresses one issue that can … Read more
When a party gifts real property to a charity, it is not unusual for them to put a condition on the gift in order to ensure the property will be used for a particular purpose. Such conditions will be encompassed in the language of the deed transferring the property. It does not matter how much … Read more