East Coast CM Report of Recent Decisions – 2020 Volume 2

Massachusetts Appellate Court Holds Broker On The “Hook” For Spoiled Seafood

WhiteCap International Seafood Exporters, Inc. (“Plaintiff ”) filed suit against insurance broker Eastern Insurance Group, LLC (“Defendant”). The Appeals Court of Massachusetts vacated Defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Whitecap International Seafood Exporters, Inc. v. Eastern Insurance Group, LLC, 97 Mass. App. Ct. 578 (Mass. App. Ct. 2020).

New York Appellate Court Scrutinizes Deadly Physical Force By The Police

Due to recent high profile events involving the police and citizens suspected of criminal activity where deadly force was used, there is much greater scrutiny placed on police officers and their employers, the municipalities.

New Jersey Appellate Court Rejects “Ongoing Storm” Defense

The New Jersey Appellate Division recently rejected the ongoing storm rule as a defense for commercial landowners in slip and fall cases. The ongoing storm rule absolves landowners of liability for failing to clear a sidewalk of ice and snow during the course of a storm.

Landlord Not Liable For Snow/Ice Slip-And-Fall Injuries On Property Where Lease Clearly Delegates Responsibility Of Removal To Tenant

New Jersey has historically held that a property owner owes a ‘nondelegable’ duty to maintain their property in a safe and reasonable manner.

New York Appellate Court Allows Homeowners To Give Certain Specific Instructions And Still Be Protected By The Homeowner’s Exemption To New York State’s Labor Law

Homeowners often hire contractors to work on their homes for repairs, remodeling and/or reconstructions. They typically have a purpose in mind when they hire people to work on their homes.

New Jersey Appellate Court Determines The Lessor Of Two Wrongs

In Lvnv Funding, LLC, Etc. v. Joseph Deangelo (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2020), the New Jersey Appellate Division was tasked with determining which is worse: an untimely filed claim or inexcusable neglect?