Firm News: Uncategorized

Partner Alexander Fisher defeated an Order to Show Cause for a Temporary Restraining Order in a contentious business dispute in Federal Court, District of New Jersey.  Gartner + Bloom’s client, a former employee of the Plaintiff, left his job and thereafter started a competing landscaping business. The Plaintiff/former employer grew angry and began a campaign of harassment against the client, defaming him repeatedly to potential customers and regulatory authorities.  Gartner + Bloom therefore filed a defamation action against the former employer in New Jersey Superior Court, which is still pending.

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_{By Ron Alfaro}

An amended version of the Grieving Families Act has been introduced by New York State lawmakers in response to Governor Kathy Hochul's veto of the original bill in January. The revised bill aims to expand the state's wrongful death statute, with a few key changes:

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By: Alexander D. Fisher, Esq.

For years, potential plaintiffs suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) have been able to make claims against business owners relating to purported failures to comply with the highly technical requirements of the law, and without any intention to patronize the businesses.  That may be changing now with the United States Supreme Court’s decision to grant certiorari and accept the appeal in the case of Acheson Hotels v. Laufer.

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By Amanda Mezer

Florida’s legislature is continuing its efforts to mend the insurance crisis in Florida. The newest proposed bill targets litigation, attorney fees, admissibility of medical bills and bad faith actions. Herein, we will be discussing the changes and potential implications for insurance carriers, their insureds and counsel.

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In an important clarification of contract and arbitration law, New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently confirmed that an arbitration agreement between sophisticated parties does not need to expressly waive the right to trial in order to bind the parties to arbitration. This ruling clarifies that while arbitration obligations contained in consumer and employment agreements continue to require express waivers, agreements between sophisticated parties do not require the same protections.

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Congrats to Alexander Fisher on obtaining a favorable jury verdict for a national restaurant client and wins further hearing forcing plaintiff to pay Counsel fees!

In a just concluded week-long jury trial in Mercer County, New Jersey, gartner + bloom, P.C. partner Alexander Fisher secured a favorable jury verdict in a claim where the plaintiff had sought several hundred thousand dollars for dental injuries.

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By Kenneth A. Bloom, Founder & Managing Partner

Talk about waiting until the last minute! Governor Hochul announced in an op-ed published by the Daily News that she would be vetoing the proposed Grieving Families Act on January 30, the deadline for her to sign the bill.

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Proposed New York City legislation would redefine employee/employer relationships for many New York City-based employers.

If passed, Int. No. 837 will prohibit covered employers from terminating employees without either “just cause” or a “bona-fide economic reason.”

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Background

“Little imagination is needed to understand the paramount importance of eliminating unfair discrimination in housing.”[1] To combat such discrimination the  New York City Council is planning to pass the Fair Chance for Housing Act (FCHA), a bill sponsored by 26 New York City Council members and the New York City Public Advocate that prohibits landlords and building owners, including co-op boards, from discriminating against a prospective tenant, purchaser, lessee or occupant on the basis of criminal history or arrest record. Not surprisingly, the bill resembles the NYC Fair Chance Act passed a few years ago, which similarly was aimed at reducing discrimination and advancing diversity and inclusion by giving individuals from all backgrounds and circumstances a fair chance in employment.[2]

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gartner + bloom is pleased to share that partners, Kenneth A. Bloom, Arthur Xanthos, and Todd Shaw, successfully defended a well-known midtown Manhattan bar and restaurant against a billion dollar commercial developer and its experienced and aggressive real estate law firm in the Commercial Division of Supreme Court, New York County.

In the exceptionally acrimonious litigation, the building owner attempted to utilize purported emergent conditions in the premises at issue to force all tenants, including the bar and restaurant, to vacate for an indeterminate period of time, potentially never being able to re-open.

g+b recruited a team of expert architects and engineers to rebut the owner's claimed emergent conditions and seized the initiative by obtaining a Yellowstone injunction against the owner while simultaneously asserting causes of action premised on New York's newly enacted commercial tenant harassment statute.

In the end, not only is g+b’s client the only tenant in that Manhattan building that is back in possession and up and running, but it is doing so with a new lease under very favorable terms negotiated by g+b that will keep it serving great food and cocktails for many more years to come