Melito & Adolfsen P.C. Legal Articles
If you own a restaurant in New York and you can show that your landlord harrassed you, Covid-19 may relieve your obligations to pay rent
COVID-19 has caused many restaurants in the City of New York to close or greatly limit their service, preventing them from paying some or any of the rent to their landlords. In a case involving a restaurant on the upper east side of manhattan, a Judge denied summmary...
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Is Alive and Well in The Age of Covid-19
By Rania Shoukier and Louis G. Adolfsen Many businesses and other organizations have been forced to rely on an exclusively remote workforce. Consequently, conducting in-person interviews and on-site visits, as well as access to original documents, is more...
What Does Marty Ginsburg Have to Say? A Little Story About the Husband of Notorious RBG
Many years ago, as a young lawyer, I worked at a law firm which still exists today, Roberts & Holland LLP. The firm specialized in taxation and one of the senior partners, Sidney Roberts, was known all around the world for his treatise, written with William C....
The Insurance Industry Anticipated a Pandemic from a virus like Covid-19 more than a decade ago.
By: Louis G. Adolfsen For businesses that were shut down by COVID-19 a common question is whether there is coverage for business interruption. In New York, the answer is no. This should be the answer nationwide. Coverage for business interruption requires property...
Let’s Give Some Well-Earned Recognition of the Work of People at USCIS, DHS, CBP and ICE who Now Have to Deal with the Temporary Suspension of Immigration
By: Rania Shoukier, Esq. and Louis G. Adolfsen, Esq.The other night the President tweeted: "In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens," "I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily...
The Tenth Amendment and the Resurrection of States’ Rights in the Age of Coronavirus
"Whatever the outer limits of that sovereignty may be, one thing is clear: The Federal Government may not compel the States to enact or administer a federal regulatory program." New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144, 188, 112 S. Ct. 2408, 2435, 120 L. Ed. 2d 120...
Understanding What Needs to be Proved to Show Medical Malpractice, Negligence, or Violation of The Public Health Law in a Nursing Home Case
By: Louis G. Adolfsen, Esq., Robert D. Ely, Esq. and Michael Panayotou, Esq. In a case against a nursing home alleging bodily injury or personal injury, it is common to allege three causes of action. The first is medical malpractice. The second is negligence. And the...
An Out-of-Possession Landlord Cannot Avoid Liability for a Fall on Snow and Ice Under a Statute Imposing Liability on an Owner Even If the Owner Delegated Responsibility for Maintaining the Property to the Tenant
By: Louis G. Adolfsen and Michael F. PanayotouIn Xiang Fu He v. Troon Management, Inc., et al. decided on October 24, 2019, the New York Court of Appeals held that section 7-210 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York "unambiguously imposes a nondelegable...
Impeachment – Did President Trump, Unwittingly, “Secretly” Record Himself and Prove His Conduct Was Malum In Se
Many commentators have noted that proving that a President committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" is not the same as proving that the President committed a crime. The history of the drafting of the Constitution shows that the phrase "High Crimes and Misdemeanors"...
You May Think You Are Insured as an Additional Insured But You May Find You Are Not Covered
Anyone who hires someone to do construction should ask the contractor to name them as an additional insured on the contractor's policy. The contractor may agree to provide the coverage but then may fail to follow the rules in the policy for providing additional...