David Ross

The case involved a plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent his eviction from a rent-controlled New York City apartment after the death of the tenant-of-record, his long-term gay life partner, on the grounds that he qualified as a surviving family member under section 2204.6(d) of the New York City Rent and Eviction Regulations. The appellate court reversed the lower court's grant of the injunction and denied the motion. The court reasoned that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits because the regulation protects only surviving spouses and traditional family members within legally recognized relationships, and the legislature had not extended such protections to nontraditional partnerships like same-sex couples. The decision emphasized that succession rights to rent-controlled tenancies are purely statutory and distinct from issues of discrimination or association rights. The court noted that any expansion of legal status for such relationships would require legislative action.

family lawproperty

The case involved a worker who suffered severe hand injuries from a meat grinder manufactured by Biro Manufacturing Company and owned by his employer, Lobe Meat Corp. The plaintiff sued Biro on claims of negligence, breach of warranties, and strict tort liability, while the employer asserted a counterclaim; the lower court had dismissed only the warranty claim as time-barred but allowed the others to proceed pending further discovery. On appeal, the court modified the order to grant Biro's motion for summary judgment in full and dismiss all remaining claims. The core reasoning was that an unknown third party had substantially modified the grinder by altering the safety guard after it left the manufacturer's control in 1958, and this alteration—not any original design or manufacturing defect—was the sole proximate cause of the injury, relieving the manufacturer of liability under established precedent.

torts & liabilityprocedure