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Recent Articles from Diana Carter
Tax ramifications of your new home office probably few or none
So you’re working from home for the first time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides the obvious perk of being able to include pajamas in your work attire rotation, might there be some tax benefits, too? For the person who is not self-employed but has just started working from home, a tax windfall is not […]
Estate planning and health care proxies require special methods during pandemic
Sharon Wick, an attorney with Phillips Lytle LLP, carried out the witnessing of a will last week in a client’s garage in Erie County. Maintaining the appropriate distance to avoid the potential spread of the COVID-19, Wick and her client, along with a witness Wick brought, kept on opposite sides of the garage. Using the […]
Despite Naval incident, it’s still illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers
While this week has shown retaliation is apparently practiced in the military, the federal Department of Labor nevertheless is reminding employers that it’s illegal to retaliate against workers who report conditions made unsafe because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That means employers can’t fire, demote, deny overtime or promotion or reduce pay or hours for whistleblowers. […]
New law for siting renewable energy projects streamlines process, some say too much
Contained in the state budget passed late last week was a new law streamlining the siting of renewable energy projects, such as wind power farms, in an effort to reach Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s aggressive clean energy goals. The Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth and Community Benefit Act aims to “improve and streamline the process for […]
UR settles sexual harassment suit for $9.4 million
The University of Rochester will pay $9.4 million in a settlement agreement announced Friday with nine former professors and students who sued the institution in 2017 over its handling of sexual harassment complaints. The parties released a joint statement, thanking the plaintiffs for stepping forward, and listing some of the lengths the university went to […]
Regulation changes help notaries during pandemic
Most notaries public may have to stay home right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they can continue to notarize documents from home without face-to-face contact. That’s because among the many executive orders Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has issued since the pandemic struck New York are several that lift the in-person requirements for notaries […]
New at video conferencing? Here are tips from a local pro
While home-bound workers are doing their jobs remotely, sometimes for the first time, one local company has created a guide that could help many, many businesses carry on in the wake of a pandemic. Perinton-based First American, with 30,000 video conferences under its belt since 2014, is sharing tips for how to do remote meetings […]
Proposed law could allow lakeside landowners to sue IJC over flooding
Federal legislation introduced by both Republican and Democrat legislators aims to allow Lake Ontario landowners to sue an international agency for damages caused by flooding of their properties. Because of record levels of Lake Ontario in 2017 and 2019, the International Joint Commission, which oversees lake levels and efforts to modify them, has been the […]
‘Dead Man Walking’ author brings legal, moral argument to McQuaid students
Helen Prejean, the nun whose internationally recognized book, “Dead Man Walking,” inspired an Oscar-winning movie about the inhumanity of death sentences, preached her message to 900 youngsters and others at McQuaid Jesuit High School Monday morning. In a talk that telescoped decades of growth and advocacy, the 80-year-old Sister of St. Joseph laid both legal and […]
Queens man suing Rochester-area plazas for access
Four local malls and plazas were named this month in lawsuits seeking greater access for people with disabilities by a New York City-area man who has been filing such suits for more than a decade. Christopher E. Brown, whose address is not listed in the suits but was identified in one against a New Jersey […]
EEOC complaint at Brockport connected to diversity officer’s firing
An administrative assistant’s federal complaint against The College at Brockport over racial bias has become intertwined with the recent dismissal of Chief Diversity Officer Cephas Archie. The complaint was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in late October 2019, but amended just last week to include details about Archie in support of Victoria Elsenheimer’s claim [&hel[...]
Cornell research may make hemp easier to raise and sell legally
Hemp growers in New York face the uncertainty of growing a crop that becomes illegal to sell because it unintentionally contains a higher amount of the psychoactive chemical THC than is allowable by state regulations. Now a Cornell University study has revealed the cause behind some hemp plants’ tendency to “go hot” that could make […]
Case Digests
- Fourth Department – Negligent performance: Rosenthal v. Syracuse University, et al.
- Second Circuit – Visual Artists Rights Act: Kerson v. Vermont Law School Inc.
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Former foreclosure referee: Opinion 22-157
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – College honorarium: Opinion 22-156
- Second Circuit – Reasonable accommodation: Tafolla v. Heilig
- Fourth Department – Labor Law: Primisch v. Peroxychem LLC
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Judicial candidacy: Opinion 22-155
- Fourth Department – Defamation: Lavine v. Glavin
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Law clerk: Opinion 22-154
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Review of another judge’s actions: Opinion 22-153
- NYS Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics – Charitable contributions: Opinion 22-150
- Second Circuit – Class action settlement: Moses v. The New York Times Company
Law News
- Appeals court upholds conviction
- Federal lawsuit reinstated against jail officer over strip search, delayed release
- Hyzon to pay $25M penalty to settle alleged fraud charges by SEC
- NY appeals court reinstates lawsuit over contract to remove snow
- Fourth Department affirms $400K judgment in contract dispute
- Fourth Department affirms decision in NY property dispute
- Greenlight Networks selects Buffalo-based attorney as general counsel
- Barclay Damon hires attorney Matt Smith
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