Cozine v. Maimonides Medical Center (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
Case about: malpractice and lack of informed consent over testosterone therapy provided by Dr. Lev Paukman. The Second Department dismissed the claims, granting summary judgment because the doctor’s records and expert showed no deviation from accepted practice and adequate risk disclosure, while the plaintiff’s expert was speculative. The ruling reinforces that plaintiffs must offer specific, record‑based expert opinions to avoid summary judgment, and that documented informed consent can defeat such claims.
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U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Henderson (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
The Second Department reinstated U.S. Bank Trust’s foreclosure case, holding that attaching a note endorsed in blank to the complaint established standing at the start of the case. But it found the bank’s default proof inadequate because notices, including the RPAPL 1304 letter, were not admissible business records. The court sent the case back for a limited new trial on default, emphasizing lenders must prove missed payments with proper records.
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Samuel v. County of Nassau (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
This sidewalk trip-and-fall case turned on Nassau County’s prior written notice rule. The Second Department dismissed the claims against the County because there was no written notice to the County Attorney and no exception applied. The ruling confirms that only notice mailed to the County Attorney counts; notices to other departments do not.
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Roderick Sidney v. Angelo Genova (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
This case centers on a personal-injury default judgment and whether the defendant was properly served. The Second Department reversed and sent the case back for a hearing on service after the defendant submitted a sworn, document-backed denial that he lived at the address where papers were left. It underscores that a detailed denial can require a hearing and that failing to update a government address listing is not estoppel.
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Campolongo v. DR & RD, Inc. d/b/a Brazen Fox (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
Plaintiffs sued a bar and its security guards after an outside assault, alleging inadequate security and negligent hiring/supervision. The Second Department dismissed those claims. It found the attack was not reasonably foreseeable and that, because the guards acted within the scope of their jobs, separate negligent hiring or supervision claims could not proceed.
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In the Matter of C.C., A Child Under Eighteen Years of Age; Catholic Guardian Services v. D.C., et al. (Appellate Division, First Department, September 18, 2025)
The case asked whether the 2022 change to DRL § 111—treating a nonmarital parent who signed an acknowledgment of parentage as a consent parent—applies to pending cases. The First Department vacated the termination of the father’s rights and remanded for a full permanent-neglect hearing, holding the amendment is remedial and retroactive. It confirms such parents cannot be reduced to notice-only status for not paying foster-care support, and termination requires clear and convincing proof.
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Matter of New York Fine Wines & Spirits, LLC v. New York State Liquor Authority (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
The Second Department partially annulled an SLA decision against a liquor store over alleged in‑store gambling tied to customer surveys and improper use of its license through a third‑party gift card program. It found no substantial evidence because customers risked nothing of value and the gift card program did not show a third party using the store’s license. Two other violations still stand, and the case was sent back for a new penalty, signaling that surveys without consideration aren’t gambling and gift cards alone don’t prove an unlawful license transfer.
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In the Matter of Jordan Evans v. Daniel F. Martuscello III, as Commissioner of Corrections and Community Supervision (Appellate Division, Third Department, September 18, 2025)
This case reviews a prison disciplinary ruling against Jordan Evans for drug charges. The Third Department overturned the contraband, distribution, and smuggling findings for lack of evidence, upheld drug possession based on a positive test and officer testimony, and sent the case back to reconsider the penalty. It underscores that hearing officers decide credibility and that unsupported charges must be removed from the record in Article 78 reviews.
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Moscatelli v. Woodbury Medical Practice, P.C. (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
A nurse practitioner sued a medical practice for harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage violations. The Second Department dismissed the hostile work environment, discrimination, aiding-and-abetting, certain city human-rights liability, and spread-of-hours claims, but let the retaliation and overtime claims proceed. The ruling underscores that plaintiffs must link the employer to the harassment or discriminatory motive, while close timing after complaints can keep retaliation claims alive.
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Leong v. Larroca Finest Home Design, LLC (Appellate Division, Second Department, 2025-09-17)
Plaintiffs claimed a strip of their neighbor’s land by adverse possession in a backyard boundary dispute. The Second Department dismissed the adverse possession, trespass, ejectment, and injunction claims and declared the plaintiffs are not owners, but allowed a negligence claim to continue. It matters because post-2008 New York law requires a reasonable, good‑faith belief of ownership, and the plaintiffs knew the strip was outside their deed.
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Rene v. Livingston Gardens, Inc. (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
A tenant sued after a slip-and-fall on an apartment stair, claiming a cracked, uneven step caused her fall. The Second Department dismissed the case, finding the roughly 3/16-inch depression at the stair edge was a trivial defect shown by photos and measurements. The court also rejected the plaintiff’s speculative expert opinions and barred a new handrail theory, reinforcing that minor conditions and unpled theories cannot defeat summary judgment.
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In the Matter of Sandy G.G.D. v. Luis R.B.G. (Appellate Division, First Department, September 18, 2025)
A mother sought guardianship of her profoundly disabled 20-year-old and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) findings, but Family Court denied the petition because the child could not consent. The First Department reinstated the petition and granted guardianship and SIJS findings. The court held the Attorney for the Child can consent through substituted judgment, so incapacity to consent does not bar relief, and SIJS requirements were met (nonviable reunification due to the father’s death and best interests against return to Venezuela).
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U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Public Administrator of Suffolk County (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
In a foreclosure case, the bank sought to serve two alleged heirs by publication and objected to the trial court tolling interest on its own. The Second Department reversed, allowed publication service, said the heirs could be necessary parties, and vacated the interest tolling. The ruling clarifies that alternative service is permitted when traditional service is impracticable and that courts must hear from the parties before changing interest.
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Joseph A. Zuniga v. Hally Roberta Smith, et al. (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
The Second Department dismissed the claims against two homeowners after a contractor’s employee was hit by a car in the public street during a pool removal at their house. The court found the accident occurred off the property and the owners neither controlled the work nor created a roadway hazard. The ruling clarifies that homeowners generally aren’t liable for street injuries to workers without control over the work or a dangerous condition they caused.
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Bank of New York Mellon v. Simpson, as administrator of the estate of Simpson (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
In a foreclosure case, the issue was whether the bank properly used affix-and-mail service after due diligence. The Second Department reversed and ordered a hearing on service after GPS records and other facts cast doubt on compliance with CPLR 308(4). The decision emphasizes that strict due diligence is required and improper service can void a judgment.
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Almark Holding Co., LLC v. Abbas (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
A landlord sued to enforce a personal guaranty after a commercial tenant stopped paying rent. The Second Department granted summary judgment on liability for the landlord and sent the case back to determine damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees. The court held the guarantor could not avoid liability because the tenant ratified the lease modification, and a related decision had already rejected the same defenses.
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Sharelle Felton et al. v. St. Joseph Hospital et al. (Appellate Division, First Department, September 18, 2025)
Plaintiffs said the hospital, funeral home, and crematory interfered with their right to control the decedent’s remains when they proceeded with cremation based on his domestic partner’s paperwork. The First Department dismissed the suit, holding the defendants reasonably and in good faith relied on that written authorization and the hospital followed required procedures. The ruling confirms these entities may rely on facially valid directions absent red flags, and late objections by relatives will not create liability.
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Paulson v. Irmgard (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
This case asked whether a car‑crash plaintiff met New York’s no‑fault serious‑injury threshold. The Second Department reinstated the suit, finding factual disputes over neck and back limitations, and dismissed the separate appeal from the reargument order. Defendants must directly address whether the crash worsened preexisting conditions; saying the injuries are just degenerative is not enough.
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County Acquisitions, LLC v. Cruz (Appellate Division, Second Department, September 17, 2025)
At issue is whether a village treasurer’s deed that gives a private tax‑lien buyer the whole property, beyond the taxes owed, violates the Takings or Excessive Fines Clauses after Tyler v. Hennepin County. The Second Department reversed the judgment quieting title in the buyer and sent the case back so the trial court can decide those constitutional claims after notifying the Attorney General and the Village. The ruling signals heightened scrutiny of New York tax‑lien deed practices and possible limits or compensation when surplus value is taken.
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People of the State of New York v. Jamarly Williams (Appellate Division, First Department, September 18, 2025)
The First Department affirmed Jamarly Williams’s second-degree murder conviction and denied his post-judgment motion. The court found the evidence sufficient, upheld the eyewitness’s confirmatory photo ID and lay identification from surveillance video, and rejected grand-jury and prosecutorial-misconduct claims. It also held counsel was not ineffective for skipping a renewal motion that was unlikely to succeed, though a partial dissent would have ordered a hearing on that issue.
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