Top 9 NY Appellate Cases Summary
#1 - Sharelle Felton et al. v. St. Joseph Hospital et al.
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 964
The First Department dismissed the case, finding the decedent’s long‑term partner qualified as a domestic partner with priority to decide his cremation, not his adult children. The decision confirms domestic partners can outrank adult children on who controls remains, and that hospitals and funeral providers may rely on that authority without right‑of‑sepulcher liability.
#2 - A.L. v. A.M.
Appellate Division, First Department, March 5, 2026
Views: 938
A.L. v. A.M. concerns a mother’s bid to change joint custody after the parents’ communication collapsed over schooling, medical care, and therapy. The First Department reinstated the motion and sent the case back for a hearing on the children’s best interests, finding a material change in circumstances. The ruling confirms that persistent breakdowns in joint decision-making require a hearing, and an older child’s preference, while weighty, is not decisive on its own.
#3 - JDS Construction Group LLC et al. v. Copper Services, LLC, et al.
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 875
A construction payment dispute on a large project involved mechanic’s liens, alleged Article 3‑A trust‑fund diversion, and a “concurrent delay” defense. The First Department reinstated Copper’s trust‑diversion and accounting counterclaims and allowed amendments to add fiduciary‑duty claims, but held lien‑foreclosure claims time‑barred under Lien Law § 17 and enforced a prior bar on the delay defense. The ruling underscores strict lien‑deadline enforcement, the need for competent proof on statute‑of‑limitations motions, and liberal allowance of amendments to trust‑diversion claims.
#4 - Castle Village Owners Corp. v. Girardi
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 1
A co-op sued a shareholder to fix a shower-pan leak that was damaging the apartment below and to allow access under the proprietary lease. The First Department dismissed the resident’s counterclaims and granted summary judgment to the co-op, ordering access for repairs at her expense. The ruling confirms that co-op boards can enforce repair and access duties when they show a building-impacting defect, and their repair choices are generally protected absent proof of bad faith or selective enforcement.
#5 - FORT CRE 2022-FL3 ISSUER LLC, et al. v. Mark Karasick, et al.
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 0
This case asked whether a New York suit to enforce absolute, unconditional payment guaranties must wait for a related Minnesota foreclosure. The First Department reinstated the New York guaranty action and vacated the CPLR 2201 stay, holding the guaranties are payment guaranties with broad waivers that make the foreclosure defenses irrelevant. The decision confirms these guaranties are immediately enforceable in New York and that “actual losses” language does not convert them into collection guaranties.
#6 - Arturo Arita v. FDS Associates, LLC; FDS Associates, LLC v. The City of New York
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 0
In a personal-injury case, the City sought to add fraud defenses and pause the schedule based on a separate federal RICO complaint against the plaintiff’s lawyers and doctors. The First Department refused to add those defenses or stay the case, but allowed limited post-note-of-issue discovery—a deposition on the plaintiff’s knowledge of the RICO allegations—while keeping the case on the trial calendar. The ruling confirms that parallel RICO allegations alone don’t support fraud defenses, though they can justify narrow, targeted discovery.
#7 - Joseph Schiff v. Intersystem S&S Corp., et al.
Appellate Division, First Department, March 5, 2026
Views: 0
A pedestrian sued after tripping on scaffolding materials left on a sidewalk outside the Apple Bank Building. The First Department held contractor Intersystem liable on summary judgment based on a supervisor’s admission and other evidence, and granted Apple Bank summary judgment on its cross‑claim that Intersystem failed to obtain required additional‑insured coverage. The ruling underscores that employee admissions and circumstantial proof can establish contractor liability, and that owners must show inspection practices to win dismissal.
#8 - Lam Pearl Street Hotel, LLC, et al. v. Anthony T. Rinaldi, LLC, et al., and Main Electrical Services, Inc.
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 0
Dispute over who must cover property damage from sprinkler work on a hotel project, with the general contractor seeking contractual indemnity from its electrical subcontractor. The First Department modified the order and held that indemnity is triggered by showing the subcontractor’s acts or omissions contributed to the loss, not by proving negligence. The grant remains conditional while the contractor’s own fault is unresolved, underscoring that courts enforce indemnity language as written even if the contractor may share fault.
#9 - Nereida Colon v. The City of New York, et al.; Rita Marsicano
Appellate Division, First Department, March 3, 2026
Views: 0
A pedestrian slipped on ice on the sidewalk next to a homeowner’s driveway. The owner invoked the § 7-210(b) homeowner exemption, but The First Department reinstated the complaint because she did not show her driveway use did not create or worsen the ice; lack of recollection was insufficient. The ruling confirms exempt homeowners must still negate liability from “special use” of a sidewalk to win summary judgment.