News & Insights

When Can You Sue for a Public or Private Nuisance?

Nuisance

When someone else’s conduct negatively impacts the use and enjoyment of your property, you may have a claim for nuisance. There are two types of nuisance actions: public nuisance and private nuisance. Each has its own requirements to establish a valid claim which varies significantly. A private nuisance action is a suit by an individual … Read more

CAN YOU SUE A NEIGHBORING PROPERTY OWNER TO STOP THEIR CONSTRUCTION?

NEIGHBORING PROPERTY

Before a party can sue in court for anything, he or she must have the standing to bring the lawsuit. To establish standing, a party must demonstrate a sufficient personal connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party’s participation in the case. Essentially, courts want to know that a … Read more

Apportioning Liability to a Party Who Is Judgment Proof

Liability

When multiple parties may be responsible for an injury to a plaintiff, a common issue is apportioning liability among the parties. Typically, the evidence is presented to establish each party’s relative percentage of responsibility for causing the injury. However, this can be complicated when one of the responsible parties is judgment proof. A party may … Read more

Information About Economic Duress

economic duress

Generally, courts will respect and enforce the terms of a contract. However, one exception to that rule involves situations where one party was coerced into signing a contract by the other party. Economic duress occurs when one side threatens to breach the agreement if the other party doesn’t accept the new terms. When it occurs, … Read more

Suing an Unlicensed Home Improvement Contractor Is Not as Easy as You Think

New York City (and various other counties throughout the State) now impose a requirement that all contractors doing home improvements must have licenses issued by the municipality where the work is to be performed. Indeed, in 2006, the NYC Administrative Code added Title 20, Chapter 2, Subchapter 22 which addresses home improvements and sets out … Read more

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies When You Can Sue Foreign Organizations

Laws giving foreign organizations immunity from lawsuits date back to at least 1945 with the “International Organization Immunities Act.” This Act granted international organizations the same immunity from being sued as enjoyed by foreign governments. However, since then, the scope of foreign government immunity has been curtailed raising the question of whether foreign organizations should … Read more