Government shutdown impacts federal court
The partial federal government shutdown is affecting the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Chief United States District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. said there are enough funds available to keep the courts running through Jan. 18. “Thereafter, I’ve issued an order deeming all our employees essential, which means they […]
Feds to spend $9.5M, restore Braddock Bay
GREECE — The federal government will spend $9.5 million so the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can restore a bay on Lake Ontario’s New York shore where erosion and silting have drastically reduced wetlands and hampered boating. Sen. Charles Schumer was at Braddock Bay Marina on Monday to announce the Environmental Protection Agency’s project to […]
High court will consider deadlines for suing gov’t
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court will consider how strict deadlines should be for people to sue the federal government for negligence. The justices agreed Monday to hear two cases where lawsuits were filed too late. In both cases, a federal appeals court ruled it was fair to let them go forward anyway. The […]
Federal government runs Dec. surplus of $53.2B
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government ran a $53.2 billion surplus in December, signaling further improvement in the nation’s finances. The surplus was the largest since September and a record for the month of December, according to the Treasury Department report released Monday. It was boosted by nearly $40 billion in payments from mortgage giants Fannie […]
Obama to feds: Boost renewable power 20%
WASHINGTON — Saying the government should lead by example, President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the federal government to nearly triple its use of renewable sources for electricity by 2020. Obama said the plan to use renewables for 20 percent of electricity needs will help reduce pollution that causes global warming, promote American energy independence […]
Government powers down; Obama to address country
WASHINGTON — Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown Tuesday as a protracted dispute over President Barack Obama’s signature health care law reached a boiling point, forcing some 800,000 federal workers off the job. Obama readied a midday statement to the nation as Democrats and Republicans maintained their blame-each-other duel on Capitol Hill. […]
Closing Fannie, Freddie could boost mortgage rates
WASHINGTON — Homebuyers could feel the pinch if Congress follows through on plans to shut down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage guarantee giants that were rescued by a $187 billion taxpayer bailout during the financial crisis. Borrowers would probably end up paying slightly higher mortgage rates under House and Senate bills that […]
US gov’t collecting huge number of phone records
WASHINGTON — The government is secretly collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon under a top-secret court order, according to the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Obama administration is defending the National Security Agency’s need to collect such records, but critics are calling it a huge over-reach. Sen. Dianne […]
U.S. Supreme Court rules gov’t can be sued for sexual assault by prison guards
The federal government is not immune from tort liability for the alleged sexual assault of a prison inmate by correctional officers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a unanimous decision. The decision reversed a ruling from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiff sued the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims […]
Court: Guam man can sue gov’t over surgery
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court says a Guam man can sue the government for a Navy surgeon’s unsuccessful cataract surgery. A unanimous court ruled on Monday for Steven Alan Levin, who was operated on in March 2003 at the United States Naval Hospital in Guam, a U.S. territory. Levin said he withdrew his consent […]
Fear, frustration mount over possible sequestration
Call it sequestration, the sequel. Short of a last-minute plot twist, very few are anxious to see how this storyline — involving billions of dollars in mandated federal spending cuts and layoffs and furloughs of federal employees — plays out. Mandated cuts across all areas of the federal government will go in place March 1 […]
Lawyer can’t sue gov’t over mistake
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued its first opinion of the new term, saying a lawyer cannot combine two laws to sue the federal government for violating identity theft protection laws banning the printing of credit card numbers and expiration dates on receipts. The justices’ first such rendering of the term […]
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