Legal News & Insights | Bleakley Platt

October 30, 2020 Blog0 comments

Corporate Compliance Plans Protect Long-Term Care Facilities & Their Caregivers

As health care workers and long-term care facilities prepare to brave winter, the flu season, a possible resurgence of COVID-19 infections and regulatory scrutiny, enforcement and possible litigation, they can prepare by reviewing their corporate compliance plans and updating them as necessary to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations and to mitigate liability risks. It is...

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August 17, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: COVID-19 Vaccinations and Health Care Workers

By: Robert Braumuller, Esq., Zaina S. Khoury, Esq. and Nina Schuman-Bronson, Esq., MPH This article appeared in the New York Law Journal on September 24, 2020. On July 27, the Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, Moderna Inc. (“Moderna”), announced the commencement of the Phase 3 study of its mRNA vaccine candidate (mRNA-1273) against COVID-19. Phase 3 clinical trial of investigational...

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July 1, 2020 Covid-190 comments

As Businesses Reopen, the Lawsuits Begin

The Landscape for the Post-COVID-19 Deluge of Lawsuits, the Intersection of Insurance and Using ADR for Expedited Resolution Click here to view the PDF titled ‘As Businesses Reopen, the Lawsuits Begin’ by John S. Diaconis, Mark J. Bunim, Jeffrey T. Zaino, Peter A. Halprin and Deborah Masucci

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May 7, 2020 Covid-190 comments

CLIENT ALERT: Landlord-Tenant Issues: Eviction Moratorium to be Extended

On May 7, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that the prohibition on both residential and commercial evictions will be extended by sixty (60) days. The initial moratorium on evictions that took effect on March 22, 2020 was imposed for ninety (90) days and was set to expire on June 20, 2020. Recently however, the Governor has been under significant pressure from tenant advocacy groups to extend...

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May 7, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Returning to Work: Reopening the Workplace in a COVID-19 World

Although the timing, scope, and conditions for New York businesses to reopen currently remain uncertain, there is no doubt that once Governor Cuomo rescinds Executive Order 202.8 (which ordered 100% on-site workforce reduction for all non-essential businesses in New York) all businesses that are able to do so will reopen. Moreover, it seems apparent that reopening will occur long before the...

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May 5, 2020 Covid-190 comments

The SECURE Act and Retirement Accounts

The retirement account has long been an advantageous tool for tax and estate planning. Workers could defer taxes on earnings by contributing to these accounts and deferring tax on distributions until they retired. Beneficiaries who inherited retirement accounts were able to “stretch” distributions over their lifetimes and therefore defer the income taxes resulting from such distributions....

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May 5, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: Landlord-Tenant Issues – New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act

On April 7, 2020, new tenant friendly legislation was introduced in the New York State Senate and Assembly. Titled the “New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act,” it would prohibit a landlord from evicting a tenant due to that tenant’s failure to pay rent for a period (i) commencing with the Governor’s declaration of a State of Emergency on March 7, 2020 and (ii) ending on a date six (6) months after...

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May 5, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: Business Interruption Insurance Coverage: Federal Legislation May Be On The Way

Insurance coverage for business interruption losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is the subject of proposed legislation in New York and a number of other states, as well as several lawsuits already commenced by insureds (see our other Client Alert about NY’s proposed legislation here). But whereas those efforts are largely directed at requiring insurers to provide coverage under existing...

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April 28, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: Impossibility, Frustration of Purpose, and Impracticability: Doctrines that may excuse contractual performance during the COVID-19 pandemic

In a previous Alert, we discussed how the operation of a force majeure clause in a contract may excuse a party’s performance in whole or in part. But what if a contract does not contain a force majeure clause? Other legal doctrines may still come into play to excuse performance under the circumstances created by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

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April 28, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: Estate Planning and the Coronavirus

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more critical than ever for everyone to have updated estate planning documents in place, especially individuals who are at high risk from the virus or have jobs that require close interaction with the public, such as essential medical professionals, police officers and firefighters. The attorneys in our Trusts and Estates practice group are able to meet...

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April 23, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: Is the COVID-19 Pandemic a Force Majeure Event?

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing businesses across the US to consider, many for the first time, the operation and effect of a mostly neglected provision in their contracts: the force majeure clause. A force majeure clause allows a party to suspend or discontinue performance of its contractual obligations under specified circumstances. It may also limit a party’s liability. Often this clause is...

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April 21, 2020 Covid-190 comments

Client Alert: Changes to Property Tax Grievance Procedures in Westchester County

On April 20, 2020, Gov. Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.22, making some important changes to property tax grievance procedures in New York State and Westchester County in particular. EO 202.22 permits the Cities and Towns of Westchester County to move the date to file property tax grievance back one month, and allows Boards of Assessment Review to conduct their hearings remotely, if necessary.

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