"It is a fundamental principle of our jurisprudence that the power of a court to declare the law only arises out of, and is limited to, determining the rights of persons which are actually controverted in a particular case pending before the tribunal." Matter of Hearst v. Clyne, 50 N.Y.2d 707, 713 (1980). This principle prohibits courts from giving advisory opinions or ruling on "academic, hypothetical, moot or otherwise abstract questions." Thus, "an appeal is moot unless adjudication on the merits will result in immediate and practical consequences to the parties." Coleman v. Daines, 19 N.Y.3d 1087, 1090 (2012) (citation omitted).