http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/thisWeeksNews.jsp The New York Law Journal throughout the day delivers news of the most important state and federal court rulings that affect the practice of law in New York. We also provides up to date reports and features on developments in law firms, the courts, government and administrative agencies, law schools, the Legislature and other topics of interest to New York lawyers. en-us Copyright 2013. ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/jsp/law/terms.jsp http://www.law.com/img/nylj_10/nylj_rss_icon.png http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/thisWeeksNews.jsp Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to take up a petition from anti-abortion extremist James Charles Kopp, who is serving a life sentence for the 1998 sniper-style slaying of an abortion doctor in upstate New York. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607037905&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607037905 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) "It is our responsibility to give it out," Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman said in a recent interview. "If someone asks for the information, they can have it." But some attorneys are troubled by the lack of confidentiality in the new mandatory reporting system. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606996879&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606996879 web-editor@nylj.com (Brendan Pierson) A unanimous First Department panel ruled that the proposed restaurant was an appropriate use of a public park, vacating a preliminary injunction issued by Manhattan Acting Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607053071&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607053071 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) While the food industry claims the product is natural and safe, the complaint filed by Buffalo attorney J. Michael Hayes alleges high fructose corn syrup is a chemically manipulated substance, the consumption of which leads to liver insulin resistance. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607053146&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607053146 web-editor@nylj.com (Christine Simmons) Within weeks of the new disclosure mandate, several organizations voiced concern that the rule's definition of pro bono appeared to exclude free legal services to nonprofit groups that serve the poor and would discourage pro bono work for these groups. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606996803&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606996803 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) A magistrate judge in Buffalo has rejected a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act class action settlement that would have resulted in $65,000 in legal fees and expenses while barring class recovery for hundreds of thousands of potential plaintiffs. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607050895&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607050895 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) The commission said that James Roman, justice of Sullivan Town Court, confronted a 15-year-old who was riding a bicycle in Roman's neighborhood, confiscated and allegedly damaged the bike and yelled profanities at the youth. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607067732&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607067732 web-editor@nylj.com (Mark Hamblett) New York City and the Southern District U.S. Attorney's Office have settled a lawsuit over pension benefits that were allegedly withheld for city police officers and other municipal workers who served in the armed forces after the 9/11 terror attacks. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607067584&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607067584 web-editor@nylj.com (Tania Karas) A veteran Manhattan insurance lawyer who helped found the firm that became Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, Sol Kroll was 94 when he died on Thursday. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607067659&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607067659 web-editor@nylj.com (Christine Simmons) Partner Joseph Lynch will succeed Arthur Rosner, who has led the office for more than a decade. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607067196&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607067196 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) A jury was picked Tuesday to weigh whether a man convicted of murdering two undercover detectives should be put to death, but not before the presiding judge tossed three prospective jurors who had been exposed to loose talk about the case in the juror waiting room. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607067121&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607067121 web-editor@nylj.com (Rick Kopstein, Photographer) A portrait of Milton Williams Sr., a former presiding justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, was unveiled on Monday at the court. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607037980&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607037980 web-editor@nylj.com (Adam Goldman, Eileen Sullivan and Tom Hays) The New York Police Department's widespread spying programs directed at Muslims have undermined free worship by innocent people and should be declared unconstitutional, religious leaders and civil rights advocates said Tuesday. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607050970&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607050970 web-editor@nylj.com (Rick Kopstein, Photographer) About 200 people attended a launch reception on Monday at the New York International Arbitration Center featuring a keynote address by Patricia O'Brien, legal counsel to the United Nations. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202607038053&rss=rss_nylj_news Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202607038053 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) Eastern District Judge Nina Gershon has ordered Arab Bank to pay $1.3 million in a lawsuit by victims of terrorist attacks in Israel. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606852920&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606852920 web-editor@nylj.com (Christine Simmons) Litigator Jeffrey Trachtman spends an estimated 300 to 400 hours on pro bono and community service each year. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606855126&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606855126 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) The Fourth Department ruling underscores an evolving body of law on when a defendant must be made aware of the full terms of a negotiated sentence. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606838409&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606838409 web-editor@nylj.com (Brendan Pierson) A Manhattan judge will decide on Thursday whether to grant Anthony Marshall, son of socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor, a retrial. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606838660&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606838660 web-editor@nylj.com (Karen Sloan and Tania Karas) Although law students participating in clinics are not yet lawyers, their time and effort have monetary value, as a magistrate judge acknowledged in a recent fee award recommendation. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606788015&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606788015 web-editor@nylj.com (Mark Hamblett) How judges should set the starting point for lowering a defendant's sentencing range when prior convictions overstate the severity of a defendant's criminal record is in dispute at the Second Circuit. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606838487&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606838487 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) After being suspended last year for allegedly neglecting client matters and not supplying subpoenaed escrow account records, Joseph Mainiero of Manhattan was disbarred. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606827143&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606827143 Four firms announce the addition of new partners and another announces a promotion to partner. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606870870&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606870870 web-editor@nylj.com (web-editor@nylj.com) Frank Sedita Jr., a judge from 1976 to 2011, son of a former mayor of Buffalo and the father of Erie County's district attorney, died of lung cancer on Sunday. He was 78. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606828896&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606828896 web-editor@nylj.com (Marcia Coyle) Civil rights groups and others concerned about an array of new state voting restrictions immediately hailed the 7-2 decision. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606830899&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606830899 The U.S. Supreme Court says lawyers may not obtain personal information from state driver license records to recruit clients for lawsuits. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606833476&rss=rss_nylj_news Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606833476 The NYLJ 100 is back with the top 100 firms ranked by number of lawyers in their New York offices in 2012. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604321395&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604321395 web-editor@nylj.com (Brendan Pierson) Justice Eileen Bransten has dismissed a lawsuit for more than $1 billion filed by a trust for the creditors of bankrupt insurer Reliance Group Holdings Inc. against accounting firm Deloitte & Touche. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604340722&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604340722 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) The New York City Police Department has been ordered to pay more than $49,000 in legal fees for withholding information available under the Freedom of Information Law from a not-for-profit organization attempting to investigate a wrongful conviction claim. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604340931&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604340931 web-editor@nylj.com (Tony Mauro) The U.S. Supreme Court moved quickly on Thursday to respond to a recent district judge's decision that struck down the federal law banning demonstrations on the grounds of the court. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604342487&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604342487 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) Joan Wexler will step down at the end of this month as Brooklyn Law School president, a position she took in 2010 after serving 16 years as the school's dean, the chairman of Brooklyn Law's board of trustees announced Thursday. Dean Nicholas Allard, who was hired last July, will now have sole responsibility for running the 1,000-student school. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604375772&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604375772 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) A 4-year-old boy caught in the middle of a bitter international custody dispute must return to Singapore with his father, despite claims from his mother that the move would put him in "grave risk" of domestic abuse. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604372506&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604372506 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has promoted nine New York attorneys to counsel, and other moves in New York. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604388544&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604388544 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) Attorneys for a pharmaceutical executive accused of feeding her autistic son a fatal dose of prescription pills are attempting to force a Manhattan ADA to reveal under oath whether the prosecution listened-in on privileged communications. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202606625583&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202606625583 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) Ownership of the well-known song "Happy Birthday to You" is under dispute after a company filed a putative class action lawsuit seeking a declaration that the tune is in the public domain and not copyrighted. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604397099&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604397099 web-editor@nylj.com (Christine Simmons) Many lawyers who have had to scramble to find alternate office space after Hurricane Sandy admit to meeting clients in homes or coffee shops, and several firms say they are still grappling with insurers over business interruption coverage. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604362572&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604362572 web-editor@nylj.com (Rick Kopstein, Photographer) The Manhattan chapter of St. John's University School of Law Alumni Association presented its annual John E. Sprizzo Award during a reception on Thursday at the Loeb Central Park Boathouse. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604362498&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604362498 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) The Third Department has held that while separately owned property is not normally a factor in establishing maintenance, "in compelling circumstances, a spouse's wasteful dissipation of his or her separate assets" is a relevant consideration. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604346989&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604346989 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) A man accused of violating an order of protection by showing up at his mother's apartment does not have standing to contest his apprehension there, a judge has ruled. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604346932&rss=rss_nylj_news Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604346932 web-editor@nylj.com (Mark Hamblett) The Justice Department's involvement has been sought for several years by civil rights lawyers who claim the NYPD has a top-down policy of stopping, questioning and frisking tens of thousands of people each year without reasonable suspicion, disproportionately young black and hispanic men. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604075585&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604075585 web-editor@nylj.com (Brendan Pierson) Aurora, Colo., shooter James Holmes has sought a subpoena compelling Fox News reporter Jana Winter to appear in Colorado, which has a qualified shield law for reporters, to be questioned about her sources for a story about him. Winter argues she is protected by New York's absolute Shield Law for journalists. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604144480&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604144480 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) Beginning Monday, claims for personal injury or property damage being brought in the state Court of Claim's New York District may be filed electronically through the Unified Court System's NYSCEF system. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604167556&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604167556 Olshan Frome Wolosky has added Mark Limardo as a partner in the tax and personal planning group, while Andrew Garbarino has rejoined Ruskin Moscou Faltischek as of counsel, and other moves. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604157172&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604157172 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) Tracy Catapano-Fox, 39, was picked in a nationwide search that attracted more than 200 applicants. She will be paid $190,000 a year. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604157207&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604157207 The New York Law Journal hosted a reception on Tuesday evening to celebrate its inaugural class of Rising Stars, a group of attorneys 40 years old or younger who have already made their mark in the legal community. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604156991&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604156991 web-editor@nylj.com (Marcia Coyle) The ruling invalidated controversial patents held by Myriad Genetics Inc. on two genes whose mutations dramatically increase the risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer - the so-called BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604179741&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604179741 web-editor@nylj.com (Todd Ruger) The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved with a voice vote the nominations of Valerie Caproni and Vernon Broderick to the Southern District bench. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604179777&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604179777 web-editor@nylj.com (Julie Triedman) In an unprecedented ruling, a federal judge has found that unpaid interns at various Fox subsidiaries should be considered employees under 2010 guidelines drafted by the U.S. Department of Labor, entitling them to compensation under federal and state labor laws. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604112300&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604112300 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) The plaintiffs, Eastern District Judge Joseph Bianco said, "failed to establish at this juncture" that the attorneys would be called as witnesses at trial and that their testimony would be prejudicial to the non-governmental defendants. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604188062&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604188062 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) A shopping mall that had a single security guard to keep watch over 85 stores on a 72-acre site cannot be held civilly liable for a shooting rampage because the crime was not reasonably foreseeable. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604166422&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604166422 The Information Law Institute at New York University School of Law has received a $1 million gift from Microsoft Corp. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604111795&rss=rss_nylj_news Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604111795 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) "The question is one of timing, not of necessity," said Eastern District Magistrate Judge Robert Levy, calling the Brooklyn District Attorney's deposition in Jabbar Collins' lawsuit "inevitable." http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604003400&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604003400 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) Henry Greenberg, a Greenberg Traurig shareholder in Albany, has been appointed new counsel to the state Commission on Judicial Nomination, succeeding Stephen Younger. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202604003364&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202604003364 web-editor@nylj.com (Tania Karas) For help bringing people back to Rockaway Beach post-Sandy, the Queens Economic Development Corporation turned to a group of lawyers - and a punk rock song. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603956584&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603956584 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) A federal judge says the government's explanation has been inadequate so far to justify the arrest and detention of Gerardo Vazquez-Mentado, who authorities thought was an illegal alien but who is actually a naturalized citizen with a nearly identical name to the person they were seeking. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603957826&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603957826 web-editor@nylj.com (Andrew Keshner) In a June 6 memorandum, Eastern District Judge Nicholas Garaufis said an approximately three-month jury selection process was "nearly complete" for the retrial of Ronell Wilson, who was convicted for the 2003 murders of two undercover police detectives. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603967380&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603967380 web-editor@nylj.com (Julie Triedman) What was meant to be a $73 million deal to modernize New York City's payroll system turned into a financial and legal disaster for Science Applications International Corp. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603966889&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603966889 web-editor@nylj.com (Joel Stashenko) A First Department panel ruled in February that New York City had not taken the steps necessary to institute new eligibility requirements for single adults seeking shelter properly, including publishing the rules and holding public hearings, before trying to put them into effect. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603989183&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603989183 web-editor@nylj.com (Suevon Lee) Perhaps no better illustration of inconsistent rulings exists in recent weeks than the pair of opposing decisions handed down from two Commercial Division judges in mid-May. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603927627&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603927627 web-editor@nylj.com (Mark Hamblett) At a public comment hearing on a pilot program put in place in 2011 to handle cases alleging excessive force, false arrest or malicious prosecution, several civil rights lawyers told Southern District Judge Paul Crotty that new measures tilt unfairly toward the city's Law Department and have done little to speed settlements. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603983215&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603983215 web-editor@nylj.com (Jan Wolfe) In a hefty 156-page ruling, Southern District Judge Robert Sweet ruled that Patriarch didn't violate an agreement to help MBIA repair collateralized debt obligations it insured. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603964414&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603964414 web-editor@nylj.com (John Caher) A County Court judge was not obligated to obtain a recommendation from the state Board of Examiners of Sex Offenders prior to holding a risk assessment hearing in an unusual case where the defendant was sentenced to time served. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603963987&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603963987 web-editor@nylj.com (Brendan Pierson) The New York City Department of Corrections does not have to turn over personal information and photographs of inmates to the operator of a website that displays the information and images unless the inmate pays to have the photo removed. http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/PubArticleNY.jsp?id=1202603983251&rss=rss_nylj_news Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT 1202603983251