RESIDENT ALIEN MUST BE UNDER 21 & UNMARRIED The petitioner in Matter of Elena G.R. sought to be appointed the guardian of a child and moved for an order “making specific findings,” so that the kid could seek “special immigrant juvenile status,” (or SIJS), from the United States Citizen and Immigration Services. After the Nassau County Family Court denied that request, and dismissed the petition, an appeal to the Appellate Division, Second Department, followed. In its decision, the AD2 noted that federal law (with respect to SIJS status) requires that the “resident alien,” must be “under 21 ..read more

WHOLESALE GROCERY AND DRUG DISTRIBUTOR PLAYED GAMES DURING PANDEMIC According to a press release issued by the New York State Attorney General’s Office, a Ronkonkoma-based wholesale grocery and drug distributor, known as Quality King Distributors, Inc., was alleged to have increased the pricing of Lysol products – including Lysol Spay and Lysol Wipes – by over 50% at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Apparently, prior to the pandemic a 19 oz can of the spray sold for $5.20. Some 5 weeks later the price increased to $8. About that same time frame, a case of 12 cans, originally sold for $5 ..read more

RECALL ALERT FROM THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: Empower Brands Recalls PowerXL Stuffed Wafflizer Waffle Makers Due to Burn Hazard Hot pieces of the waffle or stuffing can be expelled from the waffle maker during use or upon opening the product, posing a burn risk to consumers. Description: This recall involves PowerXL Model ESWM02 (five inch) and Model ESWM03 (seven inch) Stuffed Wafflizer waffle makers. The waffle makers were sold in 11 colors including black, white, red, cinnamon, gray, lavender, lemon, ocean, slate, seafoam and sage. The PowerXL logo is located on top of the w ..read more

IN DELAWARE STATUTORY TRUST WE TRUST? If you’ve heard of the “1031-Exchange,” named after the corresponding Internal Revenue Code provision 1031, then you know it’s a vehicle for transferring the cash accumulated in one piece of real estate into another, and that it allows that owner to defer tax gains that would normally be due upon a sale, by rolling over all of the proceeds into a “like-kind” property. Now, while taxes may still technically be owed, the provision allows an owner to essentially “kick the can down the road” until an actual "profit" is realized – i.e., cash is withdrawn from a ..read more

WERE THEY KICKING AT AN OPEN DOOR? Z.M. filed a personal-injury lawsuit in the New York County Supreme Court after she was injured while inspecting an ice machine. When the defendants later sought pre-trial dismissal in their favor (via a motion for “summary judgment”), the judge denied that request due to the existence of "issues of fact" which necessitated a formal hearing or trial. And on appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, agreed with that assessment. Given that the defendants claimed that the panel to the ice machine fell while Z.M. was unscrewing it, while Z.M alleged that ..read more

AFFIDAVIT WASN’T ENOUGH TO WARRANT RELIEF IN FANNIE MAE'S FAVOR After the Queens County Supreme Court granted Fannie Mae a judgment of foreclosure against the defendants, the latter appealed. And on its review of the record, the Appellate Division, Second Department, didn’t take too kindly to the fact that the agency’s motion wasn't supported by appropriate documents. The appellate court noted, in part, that an application for the issuance of a foreclosure judgment must be accompanied by “the mortgage, the unpaid note, and evidence of the default.” While a Fannie Mae employee supplied an affi ..read more

RETRACTED ACCOMMODATION WITHOUT WARNING OR EXPLANATION In a press release dated April 28, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a civil case had been filed against Dillard’s, Inc. – an Arkansas-based chain with some 282 department stores in 29 states. Apparently, the company is alleged to have engaged in pregnancy discrimination, when a long-standing employee had her pregnancy-related accommodation rescinded by a new store manager “without warning or explanation,” and was transferred to a different department where she struggled to maintain her sales numb ..read more

INJURIES TO SPINE AND RIGHT SHOULDER WERE UNRELATED TO ACCIDENT In response to personal injury litigation which R.M. had filed with the Nassau County Supreme Court, the defendants moved to dismiss the car-accident case, alleging that R.M. was unable to show that she had sustained a “serious injury,” as defined by the state’s Insurance Law. After the Supreme Court granted the motion, R.M. appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, which noted that she failed to competently rebut the conclusions of defendants’ radiologist that the purported injuries to R.M.’s spine and right shoulder ..read more

MOVE WASN'T "ECONOMICALLY NECESSARY" AND WOULD IMPACT RELATIONSHIP WITH FATHER Because the mother wanted to relocate with her kids to Rhode Island, she asked the Suffolk County Family Court to modify the provisions of her custody arrangement with the dad. In response, the father asked that he be awarded sole residential custody. After the Family Court sided with the dad, an appeal ensued. In its decision, the Appellate Division, Second Department, noted that the party seeking parental access modification must show by a “preponderance of the evidence that the move would be in the [children’s] b ..read more

TOWN HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS DOING HERE After the Town of Victor (up in Ontario County) announced its intentions to condemn the Eastview Mall, the owner objected to the process claiming that it was actively maintaining the property and searching for a new tenant – after its anchor, Lord & Taylor, filed bankruptcy and ceased operations back in February 2021 (during the height of the pandemic). The owner also objected to the fact that the government had failed to identify a “legitimate public use” for the property. And, concededly, the Town was silent as to what it intended to do with the la ..read more