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Survey Reports Problems with Filing New Fees
Cries from practitioners balking at last summer's increase in filing fees appear to have intensified as complaints mount about problems with the collection of those fees. The New York State Bar Association is expected to release the results of a survey to the Office of Court Administration this week, which State Bar President A. Thomas Levin said identifies several criticisms with the new state Supreme Court fees required for filing motions, cross motions and stipulations of settlement and discontinuance.
The survey, which he said was sent to about 13,000 practitioners and generated about 350 responses, asked attorneys across the state what kinds of experiences they were having with the charges implemented in July, and how the collection of those fees should be administered. Levin said many of the responses indicated that attorneys were still bristling from the rise in fees, which went up in several areas. The increase, initiated in part to defray the costs of assigned counsel for indigent clients, included three new charges: a $45 fee for all motions and cross motions, a $35 charge for filing a stipulation of settlement, and a $35 fee for submitting a voluntary discontinuance. Other filing fees also rose.
“They're still mad that they have to pay more in the first place,” Levin said. But the problem apparently is not just money. Many responses indicated logistics problems associated with paying motion fees, he said. In suburban and upstate areas, county clerk's offices, where the fees are paid, often are located separately from Supreme Court motion support, where motions are usually filed. Apparently, there are some rough spots with coordinating those offices.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.