Court holiday.

Allegations of negligence.

Absent a statute or public policy to the contrary, a contractual provision absolving a party from its own negligence will be enforced. Here, the defendant established its prima facie entitlement to dismissal as a matter of law by submitting the service agreement showing that maintenance of pipes was not covered, and that it was not responsible for frozen pipes or any property damage resulting therefrom.

Allstate Ins. Co. v. Parkside Fuel, Inc., NY Slip Op 04649 (2d Dep't September 20, 2023)

Here is the decision.

Accounts stated.

An account stated is an agreement between parties, based upon their prior transactions, with respect to the correctness of the account items and the specific balance due. The agreement may be express or implied where a defendant retains bills without objecting to them within a reasonable period of time, or makes partial payment on the account. In order to establish a prima facie case to recover on an account stated, the plaintiff must establish that it submitted invoices and that the defendant received and retained the invoices without objection for an unreasonable period of time.

Alliance Natl. Ins. Co. v. Hagler, NY Slip Op 04648 (2d Dep't September 20, 2023)

Here is the decision.

Real estate brokers' commissions.

In order to prevail on a cause of action to recover a commission, the broker must establish: (1) that it is duly licensed; (2) that it had a contract, express or implied, with the party to be charged with paying the commission; and (3) that it was the procuring cause of the sale. Where the broker is not involved in the negotiations leading up to the completion of the deal, the broker must establish that it created an amicable atmosphere in which negotiations proceeded, or that it generated a chain of circumstances that proximately led to the sale.

All Is. Estates Realty Corp. v. Singh, NY Slip Op 04647 (2d Dep't September 20, 2023)

Here is the decision.

Dismissal based on documentary evidence.

Under CPLR 3211(a)(1), dismissal is warranted only if the documentary evidence utterly refutes plaintiff's factual allegations, conclusively establishing a defense as a matter of law.

344 Rockaway Parkway Inv. Group, LLC v. Estate of Nedia Colon, NY Slip Op 04644 (2d Dep't September 20, 2023)

Here is the decision.

Arbitration.

Arbitration is a matter of contract, grounded in the agreement of the parties. On a motion to compel or stay arbitration, the court first must determine whether the parties have agreed to submit their disputes to arbitration, and, if so, whether this particular dispute falls within the scope of their arbitration agreement.

All Is. Estates Realty Corp. v. Singh, NY Slip Op 04646 (2d Dep't September 20, 2023)

Here is the decision.

A default in a personal injury action.

By defaulting, the defendant admitted all traversable allegations in the complaint, including the basic allegation of liability.  Therefore, the only issue to be determined at the inquest is the extent of the damages sustained by the plaintiff, and the court may not consider any issues of liability.

Abad v. Francis Lewis, LLC, NY Slip Op 04645 (2d Dep't September 20 2023)

Here is the decision.

Landlord-tenant law.

Where there is an ambiguity as to the meaning of a provision of a lease that was prepared by the landlord, the ambiguity will be resolved in favor of the tenant.

2330  Ocean Assoc., LLC v. Haroun, NY Slip Op 04643 (2d Dep't September 20, 2023)

Here is the decision.

Appellate practice.

The issues raised in connection with prior interlocutory orders are terminated with entry of the final judgment, but these issues may be reviewed as non-final orders that affect the final judgment, pursuant to CPLR 5501 [a] [1].

U.S. Bank, N.A. v. Kim, NY Slip Op 04706 (1st Dep't September 21, 2023)

Here is the decision.

An enforceable agreement to arbitrate.

Defendant established, prima facie, that there was an arbitration agreement by submitting evidence that plaintiff electronically signed defendant's updated terms of use, which included an arbitration provision, by clicking a checkbox and button that confirmed that she had reviewed and consented to the terms. Although plaintiff disputes whether she had inquiry notice of the terms, she did not affirmatively deny actual notice. In addition, defendant established inquiry notice, as a matter of law, by submitting the email and in-application pop-up screen that informed plaintiff that the changes to terms affected arbitration rights and included prominent hyperlinks to the terms in font commonly understood to signify hyperlinks. Plaintiff's arguments disputing the validity of the terms and raising unconscionability must be decided by the arbitrator, because the terms contain a delegation provision that plaintiff did not specifically challenge. 

Wu v. Uber Tech., Inc., NY Slip Op 04706 (1st Dep't September 21, 2023)

Here is the decision.

The doctrine of law of the case.

The doctrine applies only to legal determinations that were previously resolved on the merits.

47 E. 34th St. (NY) L.P. v. BridgeStreet World, NY Slip Op 04702 (1st Dep't September 21, 2023)

Here is the decision.