In an action brought by the Attorney General’s Office, People v. First American Corp., the Court of Appeals found that the New York statutory and common law claims against real estate appraisal firms were not preempted by federal law. The Court also resolved three appeals from decisions in which the Appellate Division held that, as a matter of law, the evidence the respective plaintiffs presented was insufficient to establish that their injuries from automobile accidents were “serious” as defined in the no-fault statute. In doing so, the Court expressed that, although courts are justifiably skeptical of serious injury claims based upon soft-tissue injuries, the fact finder must resolve issues of witness credibility if certain evidentiary requirements are satisfied. These decisions are discussed below, along with the results in several recent criminal appeals.
Real Estate Appraisals
The case of People v. First American Corp. required the review of an alphabet soup of federal statutes enacted and agencies formed during housing crises past and present. The Court (6-1) determined that federal law did not “occupy the field” so as to preempt then-Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo’s action under New York statutory and common law against two real estate appraisal firms.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
