(Surety Entitled to Award of Fees and Costs as Prevailing Party in Action to Enforce Liability on a Bond, Even Though Surety’s Indemnitor Paid the Fees and Costs)

(Prior Judicial Determination That Underlying Complaint Asserting Violations of a Conservation Easement Did Not Allege an “Accident” Barred Plaintiff from Relitigating the Issue in a Subsequent Action Against Different Insurers Notwithstanding Plaintiff’s Presentation of New Factual Details and Intervening California Supreme Court Decision Holding Negligent Supervision Qualifies as “Accident”)

(Leave Granted to File an Amended Complaint Alleging Property Loss Caused by COVID-19 Government Shutdown Orders)

(Absent Direct Physical Loss Sustained by Property, Business Income Coverage Is Not Afforded by Property Policy)

(The Phrase “Oral or Written Publication, In Any Manner, of Material That Violates a Person’s Right of Privacy” is Ambiguous, Such That It Can Include TCPA Claims Based on the Violation of the Right to Seclusion)

(Habitability Exclusion Applied to Exclude Coverage of Lawsuit Alleging Non-Habitability Claims That Were Included With Habitability Claims)

Lewis Brisbois’ New York team recently secured a dismissal and an adverse-inference charge in two cases that demonstrate the continued importance of obtaining discovery regarding social media and plaintiffs’ private journals, respectively. In King v. Shabab and Clarke v. Povella, New York Partners David L. Rosenthal, Nicholas P. Hurzeler and Jennifer R. Harris, with Associates Briana O’Connor and Dean Pillarella, argued that a straightforward application of the principles set forth in the New York Court of Appeals’ decision in Forman v. Henkin, 30 N.Y.3d 656, 666 (2018) warranted discovery sanctions.

For months, the New York legal and business communities have been following the progress of Bill S74A, also known as the “Grieving Families Act,” which was passed by the New York legislature in June 2022. Now that Governor Hochul has been reelected, we anticipate she may sign the bill into law within days or weeks.