Recent Blog Posts
New York’s Legal Landscape Makes Finding General Liability Insurance a Challenge
If you’ve attempted to obtain insurance as a contractor or property owner undertaking a construction project in New York, you’re probably already familiar with how challenging it can be to obtain a general liability insurance policy in the Empire State. New York stands out as one of the nation’s most difficult insurance landscapes for… Read More »
Appellate Division Court Limits Discovery Rule in Lead Paint Case
New York’s rules governing when someone may file suit based on injuries received from toxic exposure are very generous, allowing decades to pass between the original exposure and the date by which the plaintiff must file suit. In a recent ruling by the Appellate Division, the judges determined that a woman had waited too… Read More »
Failure to Provide Notice Results in Loss of Opportunity to Recover
Owners and developers often choose to protect themselves from very delayed claims from contractors by ensuring construction development contracts include a requirement that notice of a claim be provided within a certain time period. These clauses can protect a developer from having to reopen a long-closed project, after memories have faded and evidence is… Read More »
Department of Justice Changes Policy on Supplemental Environmental Projects
Eight months into the Trump Administration, the legal community is still learning how the Department of Justice will run under the helm of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Recently, Sessions issued a memo that will bring about a substantial change in how the Department of Justice handles settlements in civil and criminal matters, and in… Read More »
Success on Appeal for Law Offices of Richard A. Fogel
The Law Offices of Richard A. Fogel recently won an important victory on an appeal of a denied summary judgment motion. The Second Department of the Appellate Division, in a wild and rare split decision, sided with our client, GEICO Insurance, and granted a motion dismissing the underlying plaintiff’s complaint for a declaratory judgment… Read More »
Plaintiff in Asbestos Trial Relies on Parker Standard in Successful Claim
The Parker v. Mobil Oil case continues to exhibit a substantial effect on toxic tort claims across New York. In a recent ruling, the Fourth Department of the New York Appellate Division upheld a jury award of damages to a plaintiff despite a lack of specificity in testimony regarding the level of asbestos exposure… Read More »
Court Looks at Whether Homeowners Retain Coverage after Move
A recent case before a trial judge of the New York Supreme Court in Steuben County asked the judge to determine whether the owners of a home were covered by their insurance policy after that home was destroyed by a fire. The case, titled Harrison v. Allstate Indemnity Co., was filed after Allstate disclaimed… Read More »
Recent Uptick in Public Nuisance Claim Filings Could Indicate Broader Trend
Attorneys and legal scholars in the fields of toxic torts and environmental law are taking note of the growing popularity of public nuisance claims. These experts believe that, in a climate where class action lawsuits are becoming less and less available, and public regulation of environmental issues is decreasing, public nuisance claims may become… Read More »
Appellate Division Rejects Toxic Exposure Claim Based on Insufficient Quantification of Exposure
Yet another court has offered an interpretation of the standard created by the Court of Appeals opinion in Parker v. Mobil Oil. The First Department (Manhattan and The Bronx) of the Appellate Division vacated a jury’s award of damages in an asbestos case, finding that the plaintiff’s expert testimony did not meet the Parker… Read More »
Lower Court Declines to Follow Parker v. Mobil Oil in an Asbestos Case
In a recent unpublished lower court opinion, Battistoni v. Aerco International, issued by Judge Peter Moulton of New York County Supreme Court, a mesothelioma plaintiff successfully defeated a motion for summary judgment despite an absence of quantification of exposure by the plaintiff’s expert witness. The court distinguished and declined to follow Court of Appeals… Read More »
