by | Jan 31, 2023 | Personal Injury
What Is The Grieving Families Act? Senate Bill S74A (A6770) seeks to amend New York’s wrongful death statute, which has been in place since 1847. New York is only one of two states (Alabama the other) which prohibit the recovery of emotional injury damages in...
by | Jan 27, 2023 | Litigation, Notary Public, Real Estate
Being a Notary Just Got a Lot More Difficult Effective now, the Department of State has implemented rigorous recordkeeping requirements for in-person notarial acts that mirror the requirements needed to perform electronic notarial acts. The official rule adoption...
by | Jan 13, 2023 | Litigation, Real Estate, Real Estate Brokerage
Your Seller Won’t Pay Your Commission — Now What? “Whoever has the gold makes the rules” is a familiar saying with particular relevance to real estate transactions. With hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of dollars flying across the closing...
by | Jan 6, 2023 | Litigation
Ambiguous “Effective Date”? The First Department, in a fully explored decision over a two justice dissent, ruffled some feathers in its application of well settled principles of contract interpretation. In the case Mak Technology Holdings Inc. v....
by | Dec 30, 2022 | Real Estate Brokerage, Regulatory Compliance
Four Areas of Focus The Division of Licensing Services has created a new enforcement initiative branded the “Internet Enforcement Unit” tasked with visiting real estate brokerage websites to detect violations and commence administrative proceedings against...
by | Dec 29, 2022 | Real Estate, Residential Leases
RPL §231-b Effective June 21, 2023 Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S5472A. According to the bill’s sponsors: “This bill would establish a flood risk ‘right to know’ for renters. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)...
by | Dec 23, 2022 | Construction
Construction License Agreements It is not uncommon for construction on one property to require access onto or across an adjacent property. In fact, the need is so common that, by statute, a court can compel a neighbor to grant a license for necessary repairs or...
by | Dec 20, 2022 | Litigation
Unbundled Legal Services New York Courts have joined the growing ranks of jurisdictions explicitly permitting limited scope representation in civil litigation. On Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill S6807, officially amending CPLR §321 to set forth the...
by | Dec 16, 2022 | Foreclosure, Litigation
What is a Default Judgment? A default judgment can be entered when a defendant fails to answer a summons, which is required to be served upon the defendant in a manner expected to make them aware of the lawsuit. Defaults happen for many reasons: neglect on the part of...
by | Nov 23, 2022 | Foreclosure
Assembly Bill A3081 Signed Into Law On November 21, 2022 Governor Kathy Hochul signed Assembly Bill A3081 into law. The new law specifically preempts local laws, ordinances or resolutions that allow or require the registration of residential mortgages in default prior...