Our February 2023 post “The Commercial Division Rejects Yet Another Insured’s Claim for Coverage for Covid-Related Revenues Losses” left readers wondering whether the New York Court of Appeals would uphold the First Department’s determination that COVID-19 does not qualify as “direct physical loss” for insurance purposes. One year later, the Court of Appeals
A recent decision from New York County Commercial Division Justice Joel M. Cohen highlights the hurdles that defendants face in trying to assert a fraudulent inducement defense to a breach of contract claim. Justice Cohen’s decision also reinforces the potential benefits plaintiffs can enjoy by moving for partial summary judgment early, before fact discovery is completed.
The scope of New York’s long arm jurisdiction may be broader than you anticipate. In State of New York v. Vayu, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 801, 2023 WL 1973001 (February 14, 2023), the New York Court of Appeals, in a 5-1 decision, overturned Supreme Court’s and the Third Department’s decisions to dismiss a contractual dispute
Does the business harm caused by COVID-19 qualify as “direct physical loss” for insurance purposes? In Spirit Airlines, Inc. v. American Home Assurance Company, Index No. 655755/2021, Commercial Division Justice Robert R. Reed held that the answer is no. In a decision announced on the record at an August 18, 2022 oral argument and entered on September
On January 13, 2023, the New York State Commercial Division issued a decision in Bangladesh Bank v. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., et al., Index No. 652051/2020, that continued New York courts’ tendency to assert personal jurisdiction over foreign banks, even if their only relationship with New York is having correspondent bank accounts.
In “Governor Cuomo’s “Tolling” of New York Statutes of Limitation Has Ended, But What Did It Accomplish?”, we examined the debate surrounding whether Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 202.8 and subsequent orders up to and including Executive Order No. 202.67, which extended Executive Order No. 202.8 (collectively, the “Executive Orders”), actually tolled New
Mac Parent LLC v. North American Elite Insurance Company, Index No. 906489/2020, Supreme Court, Albany County
On March 29, 2021, Justice Richard J. Platkin, of the Albany County Commercial Division, dismissed an insurance coverage dispute pursuant to CPLR § 3211(a)(4) due to another action that was pending in New York County, making clear that New
In Black Diamond Aviation Grp. LLC v. Spirit Avionics, Ltd., 70 Misc. 3d 823 (Sup. Ct. Suffolk Cnty. 2020), Justice James Hudson of the Suffolk County Commercial Division limited the reach of New York’s long-arm statute, CPLR 302, in granting a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction where the contract at issue was
COVID-19 has ushered in a new era for litigation in the Commercial Division. Here are the key developments litigants should be aware of.
Remote Appearances and No Paper Copies
In May 2020, e-filing in the Commercial Division resumed in earnest, with a few important differences from the status quo ante:
Statutes of limitation were “tolled” in New York by Executive Order No. 202.8, issued by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on March 20, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the next six-and-a-half months, that toll was renewed by further executive order every 30 days until, on October 4, 2020, the Governor issued Executive Order
