Legal malpractice.

A party may plead a cause of action alleging legal malpractice where the defendant drafted a usurious loan document that is not excepted from the usury laws.

Salamone v. Deily & Glastetter, LLP, NY Slip Op 04846 (1st Dep't September 4, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Preclusion.

Plaintiff raises issues that were or could have been litigated in an earlier action, and so he is precluded from relitigating them in this action.

Hall v. Deutsche Bank Natl. Trust Co., NY Slip Op 04768 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Summary judgment.

The mere hope that, during discovery, evidence sufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment may be uncovered is not enough to deny the motion as premature.

Wilson v. Tillman, NY Slip Op 04819 (1st Dep't August 28, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Contract law.

A so-ordered stipulation is a contract between the parties thereto and, as such, is binding on them and will be construed in accordance with contract principles and the parties' intent. When an agreement between parties is clear and unambiguous on its face, it will be enforced according to its terms and without resort to extrinsic evidence.

Gounder v Melrose Credit Union, NY Slip Op 04766 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Vacating a default.

Pursuant to CPLR 5015(a), a party seeking to vacate a default in opposing a motion must offer a reasonable excuse and a potentially meritorious opposition.

Gounder v. Melrose Credit Union, NY Slip Op 04766 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Premises liability.

A defendant seeking dismissal on the basis of a trivial defect must make a prima facie showing that the defect is physically insignificant and does not increase any risk it poses. Only then does the burden shift to the plaintiff to establish an issue of fact. The issue of whether a dangerous or defective condition exists depends on the facts of each case and generally is a question of fact for the jury. There is no minimal dimension test or per se rule that the condition must be of a certain height or depth in order to be actionable. In determining whether a defect is trivial, the court must examine the width, depth, elevation, irregularity, and appearance of the defect, as well as the time, place, and circumstance of the injury.

Photographs which fairly and accurately represent the accident site may be used to establish that a defect is trivial and not actionable. A defendant may establish, prima facie, that an alleged defect was trivial as a matter of law and, thus, not actionable, even without submitting an objective measurement of the alleged defect's dimensions.  However, a defendant moving for summary judgment who does not submit an objective measurement of the alleged defect has greater difficulty and often fails to demonstrate triviality as a matter of law.

Genutis v. 555 Dekalb Ave., LLC, NY Slip Op 04765 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Leave to renew.

A motion for leave to renew must be based on new facts not offered on the prior motion that would change the prior determination, and it must offer reasonable justification for the failure to present the facts on the prior motion, pursuant to CPLR 2221[e][2], [3].  Leave to renew is not a second chance freely given to parties who have not exercised due diligence in making their first factual presentation.

Esteban v. Dubuisson, NY Slip Op 04763 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Alter ego liability.

In seeking to hold a parent corporation liable for its alter ego's actions, a plaintiff must show that the corporation exercised complete domination and control of the action, and committed a fraud or wrong, causing injury to the plaintiff.

Rich v. J.A. Madison, LLC, NY Slip Op 04818 (1st Dep't August 28, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Sanctions for frivolous conduct.

Pursuant to 22 NYCRR 130-1.1, a court, in its discretion, may impose sanctions against a party for frivolous conduct.  Conduct is considered frivolous if it is completely without merit in law or fact and cannot be supported by a reasonable argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law; undertaken primarily to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation, or to harass or maliciously injure another; or asserts material factual statements that are false.

DeSimone v. Northport-East Northport Union Free Sch. Dist., NY Slip Op 04762 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Motions to dismiss.

A motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(1) to dismiss the complaint on the ground that the action is barred by documentary evidence may be granted only where the documentary evidence utterly refutes the plaintiff's allegations, thereby conclusively establishing a defense as a matter of law. If the evidence submitted in support of the motion is not documentary, the motion must be denied. An affidavit is not documentary evidence because its contents can be controverted by other evidence, such as another affidavit.

Curran v. Village of Amityville, NY Slip Op 04760 (2d Dep't August 27, 2025)

Here is the decision.

Failure to prosecute.

CPLR 3216 permits a court to dismiss a complaint for want of prosecution only after the court or the defendant has served the plaintiff with a written notice demanding that the plaintiff resume prosecution of the action and serve and file a note of issue within 90 days after receipt of the demand, and stating that the failure to comply with the demand will serve as the basis for a motion to dismiss the action. Since CPLR 3216 is a legislative creation and not within a court's inherent power, the failure to serve a written notice that conforms to the provisions of CPLR 3216 is the failure of a condition precedent to dismissal of the complaint.

Terryn v. Rubin, NY Slip Op 04741 (2d Dep't August 20, 2025

Here is the decision.