SWEET-MARTINEZ v. Martinez, 2020 NY Slip Op 20195 – NY: Supreme Court, Warren, August 10, 2020: “Presently before the Court is plaintiff’s Order to Show Cause which, in lieu of signing, was accepted as an ex parte motion for permission to serve defendant via an alternative method (see CPLR 308 [5]), namely FedEx International Economy mail to his last known address in Mexico. Plaintiff Tiffany Anne Sweet-Martinez and defendant Florencio Hernandez Martinez were married on…

Ten years of litigation. Wells Fargo Bank NA v. Vittoris, NYLJ August 11, 2020, Date filed: 2020-07-29,     Court: Supreme Court, Queens, Judge: Justice Bernice Siegal,     Case Number: 22316/10: “BACKGROUND The salient facts of this matter are as follows: Plaintiff, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., (hereinafter “Wells Fargo”) filed the summons and complaint in the within action on or about September 1, 2010. Plaintiff alleges substituted service on the Defendant on September 9, 2010. Plaintiff…

PATRICIA COCCA-RAU, Plaintiff, v. STANDARD INSURANCE COMPANY and STANDARD INSURANCE OF NEW YORK, Defendants., No. 19-cv-06149 (PMH). ,United States District Court, S.D. New York. July 22, 2020: “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 “makes it unlawful for an employer `to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s…

As you know, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on August 3 signed legislation (S6874-A/ A8903-A) explicitly granting the Department of State the authority to discipline real estate professionals found to have violated provisions of the state Human Rights Law by revoking or suspending their license. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 441-c of the Real Property Law is amended  to read as follows (the language in BOLD is new): “(a) The department of state may revoke…

RPAPL Section 745(2)(a)(iv) enacted in the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (“HSTPA”) provides “where a respondent has properly interposed a defense based upon the existence of hazardous or immediate hazardous violations of the housing maintenance code in the subject apartment or common areas, the court shall not order deposit or payment of use and occupancy.” 2167 Crotona Ave. HDFC v. Recio, NYLJ August 12, 2020, Date filed: 2020-07-27,     Court: Civil Court, Bronx, Judge:…

In this case, a union filed an employee benefits action against defendant contending that defendant violated the parties’ participation agreement, collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and 29 USC §1145 by failing to pay delinquent employee benefit contributions owed under the agreements, as well as liquidated damages and audit fees. Plaintiffs further claimed that defendant was liable for additional compensatory relief including reasonable attorneys’ fees. The court granted plaintiff’s motion for a default judgment. NYS Teamsters Conference…

The real mystery of this case is which spouse was responsible for the original uncontested filing. LUZ S. v. CESAR P., 2020 NY Slip Op 50873 – NY: Court of Claims July 28, 2020: By prior Decision and Order of this Court, dated April 24, 2020, it was ordered that motion sequence 001, filed by Plaintiff Luz S. (“Plaintiff”) to “vacate the [February 2011] judgment of divorce with index number [redacted] and for any other…