Features
Easements and the 'Stranger to the Deed' Rule
In <i>Cerniglia v. Church of the Holy Name of Mary</i>, decided on April 20, the Second Department confronted an argument about the scope of New York's "stranger to the deed" rule.
Decisions of Interest
'Intimate Relationship' Gives Family Court Jurisdiction over Birth Mother In a case involving a birth mother who allegedly went too far in trying to get her children back from their adoptive mother, Nassau Family Court Judge Julianne S. Eisman determined that Family Court had jurisdiction over the birth mother because her threatening actions constituted a "family offense." M.F. v. K.G. (Family Court, Nassau Cty. 4/1/10) (Eisman, J.). …
Features
Equal Distribution
In last month's issue, we discussed a decision in in which a Supreme Court judge in Manhattan dismissed a divorced man's suit to recover from his ex-wife half of what he lost by taking investments in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme in their divorce settlement. The discussion concludes herein.
Bad Law on Double Dipping
In two recent Second Department cases decided within 30 days of each other, the facts appear similar, yet one case gets the law right, the other gets it completely wrong. While bad law was corrected by the former, it was perpetuated by the latter.
Features
Seller Beware: Delivery of Goods Post-Petition May Cost You
The Eleventh Circuit case <i>In re Delco Oil, Inc. (Marathon Petroleum Co., LLC v. Cohen)</i>, serves as an important reminder for suppliers to monitor a customer's bankruptcy filing and to confirm the rules for doing business before delivering goods to a debtor.
Risk Retention: Throwing the Baby Out with the Bath Water
The public outcry driving financial reform may unwittingly create risk retention levels in securitization transactions that will ultimately affect main street's credit costs and severely limit access to credit.
Portion of Expert's Lost Development Deals Damages Ruled Too Speculative
A magistrate for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has excluded a significant portion of an expert's damages testimony in a suit by book author Michael Baisden alleging that the defendants exceeded the scope of a license to produce stageplays of Baisden's novels <i>The Maintenance Man</i> and <i>Men Cry in the Dark</i>.
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