The federal government recently passed a law requiring most companies to disclose their beneficial owners. The chief purpose of the statute is to prevent financial crimes. By mandating such disclosure, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”) makes it difficult for individuals to conceal illegal activities using shell companies. New York State has also enacted its … Read more
Many people live their lives online open to public consumption. One of the downsides of that is how it could affect their employment. Some individuals have lost job opportunities due to the content of social media posts, even those made many years prior. While it may seem unfair to employees, employers may be concerned about … Read more
In 2019, largely in response to the #MeToo movement, the New York Legislature amended the New York General Obligations Law to prohibit the use of a non-disclosure provision in any document resolving a claim in which sexual harassment was alleged. This prohibition did not apply, however, if the complainant chose to include the non-disclosure language … Read more
Litigation is an adversarial practice where parties will seek to take full advantage of mistakes made by the other side. In some instances, New York’s Civil Practice Law & Rules (CPLR) and other court rules do provide limited opportunities for attorneys to be excused for their inadvertent errors. While they may be forgiven in certain … Read more
Life insurance is a necessary part of any well-considered estate plan. A term life policy that covers you for a certain number of years can help ensure money is available to your beneficiaries to pay expenses after your death. Whole life coverage provides a guaranteed death benefit as well as offering lifetime benefits through access … Read more
In a previous blog post, we discussed a court ruling on when a party can terminate a license to use property at will. The decision of the New York Appellate Division, Fourth Department in Skaneateles Country Club v. Cambs had created another exception to the general rule that license agreements can be terminated at will. … Read more
Generally, under New York law, a release signed by one party releasing the other party from liability bars the first party (the releasor) from suing the second party (the releasee). However, how this rule plays out in court can be complicated as demonstrated in a recent decision of the New York Appellate Division, Second Department. … Read more
When someone is injured by an employee of a business, it isn’t unusual for the individual to often try to hold the employer responsible for the employee’s conduct to bring a party with a “deep pocket” (and potentially their insurance carrier) into the litigation. Depending on the facts of the case, an employer may be … Read more
The failure of several banks in the last year caused many to question whether their money was protected if their bank went under. FDIC insurance is available up to a certain limit and not just for individual accounts. Almost all funded trusts have bank accounts that are insured by the FDIC. However, the amount of … Read more
Like any contract, leases must meet certain requirements to be legally valid. One of these requirements was addressed in a recent decision of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department. The case involved a lease amendment that was signed by the tenant but the tenant never received a copy of the fully executed … Read more
The federal government recently passed a law requiring most companies to disclose their beneficial owners. The chief purpose of the statute is to prevent financial crimes. By mandating such disclosure, the Corporate Transparency Act (the “Act”) makes it difficult for individuals to conceal illegal activities using shell companies. New York State has also enacted its … Read more
Many people live their lives online open to public consumption. One of the downsides of that is how it could affect their employment. Some individuals have lost job opportunities due to the content of social media posts, even those made many years prior. While it may seem unfair to employees, employers may be concerned about … Read more
In 2019, largely in response to the #MeToo movement, the New York Legislature amended the New York General Obligations Law to prohibit the use of a non-disclosure provision in any document resolving a claim in which sexual harassment was alleged. This prohibition did not apply, however, if the complainant chose to include the non-disclosure language … Read more
Litigation is an adversarial practice where parties will seek to take full advantage of mistakes made by the other side. In some instances, New York’s Civil Practice Law & Rules (CPLR) and other court rules do provide limited opportunities for attorneys to be excused for their inadvertent errors. While they may be forgiven in certain … Read more
Life insurance is a necessary part of any well-considered estate plan. A term life policy that covers you for a certain number of years can help ensure money is available to your beneficiaries to pay expenses after your death. Whole life coverage provides a guaranteed death benefit as well as offering lifetime benefits through access … Read more
In a previous blog post, we discussed a court ruling on when a party can terminate a license to use property at will. The decision of the New York Appellate Division, Fourth Department in Skaneateles Country Club v. Cambs had created another exception to the general rule that license agreements can be terminated at will. … Read more
Generally, under New York law, a release signed by one party releasing the other party from liability bars the first party (the releasor) from suing the second party (the releasee). However, how this rule plays out in court can be complicated as demonstrated in a recent decision of the New York Appellate Division, Second Department. … Read more
When someone is injured by an employee of a business, it isn’t unusual for the individual to often try to hold the employer responsible for the employee’s conduct to bring a party with a “deep pocket” (and potentially their insurance carrier) into the litigation. Depending on the facts of the case, an employer may be … Read more
The failure of several banks in the last year caused many to question whether their money was protected if their bank went under. FDIC insurance is available up to a certain limit and not just for individual accounts. Almost all funded trusts have bank accounts that are insured by the FDIC. However, the amount of … Read more
Like any contract, leases must meet certain requirements to be legally valid. One of these requirements was addressed in a recent decision of the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, First Department. The case involved a lease amendment that was signed by the tenant but the tenant never received a copy of the fully executed … Read more