Daily Record (Rochester, NY) articles from March 2004

Daily Record (Rochester, NY) archives from March 2004

Bankruptcy court denies debtor's discharge because of failure to disclose all assets.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones In adversary proceedings challenging the debtor's Chapter 7 discharge and related transactions, did the evidence establish that the debtor failed to disclose certain assets? Was the debtor's transfer of real estate to...

New York court records to be posted on Internet.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Staff The New York State court system will begin making court records available on the Internet, joining just a handful of states nationwide to provide individual case file information online, along with court decisions and...

Former Monroe County Family Court Judge Taddeo to seek NY State Supreme Court seat.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Staff Former Monroe County Family Court Judge Ann Marie Taddeo will run for New York State Supreme Court in the November 2004 election. The seat she is vying for will open when Appellate Division Justice Elizabeth Pine's term...

Judge Kaye's 'State of the Judiciary' Address for 2004: Part V.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Staff New York State's Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye discussed a variety of topics in her recent State of the Judiciary address. Today's segment provides excerpts from her comments the Judicial Institute, judicial facilities,...

NY Women's Bar celebrates first female surrogate judge.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones With warmth, grace and her contagious sense of humor, Judge Barbara Howe mingled with the many guests attending the celebration of her successful bid for the position of Erie County Surrogate Judge. The Western...

NY District Court judge rules treating physician's opinion may be discounted.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Deborah Fauver Must an administrative law judge accept a treating physician's opinion that a Social Security claimant remains completely disabled, despite some improvement in his condition? Not if other medical evidence in the...

Drug recognition expert's failure to testify at hearing results in dismissal of DWI charge.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Should a charge of Driving While Ability Impaired be dismissed because a drug recognition expert failed to testify at a probable cause hearing? This was the issue before the Sweden Town Court in the People v....

New York State Bar Assn. creates Pakistan Chapter.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Staff The International Law and Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association has created a Pakistan Chapter. The section has 28 substantive committees organized by area of legal practice and international chapters in...

Judge Kaye's 'State of the Judiciary' Address for 2004: Part VI.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Staff New York State's Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye discussed a variety of topics in her recent State of the Judiciary address. Today's segment provides excerpts from her comments on public trust in the judiciary. by Judith S....

Perinton family reaches $1M settlement in wrongful death lawsuit.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Staff The family of Maura Peters, a Perinton woman who was killed in a November 1999 car accident, has reached a $1 million settlement. New York State Supreme Court Judge Andrew V. Siracuse presided over the settlement that was...

Alfred State College Police Dept. completes New York incident-based reporting program.
March 2, 2004... Byline: Staff The NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services has certified the Alfred State College University Police Department for participation in the NYS Incident-Based Reporting (NYSIBR) program. Chauncey G. Parker, director of...

U.S. District Court rules evidence sufficient to support retaliation claim against university.
March 3, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, was there sufficient evidence to support the plaintiff's claims of discrimination and retaliation? In Carlos Bayon v. The State...

NY State Supreme Court holds special session to administer oath to over 100 candidates.
March 3, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Over 100 candidates for admission to the New York State bar were on hand at Slee Concert Hall on Friday, Feb. 27 when the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department held a special session to...

Office of Court Administration issues health information authorization form on its website.
March 3, 2004... Byline: Staff The Office of Court Administration has issued a health information authorization form that complies with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The OCA Official Form No. 960,...

NY State Supreme Court allows plaintiff's lawsuit against Buffalo Bills to proceed.
March 4, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Is the plaintiff entitled to recover damages from the Buffalo Bills after he fractured his finger attempting to catch a football thrown by a JUGS machine? This was the issue before New York State Supreme Court,...

NY State Supreme Court rules treble damages not warranted.
March 4, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Did the trial court err in denying plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of defendants' liability for trespass? Was the plaintiff entitled to treble damages under RPAPL s. 861 for the...

Attorney and sports director share tips for presentations at Monroe County Bar Center program.
March 4, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller For some, public speaking comes naturally, for others it is a difficult, almost painful task. In an effort to help public speakers sharpen and perfect their presentation skills, the Monroe County Bar Center for...

NY State Court of Appeals sets aside Angel Mateo's death sentence.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Must the defendant's death sentence be overturned because he went to trial under an unconstitutional two-tiered penalty scheme? Was the defendant's right to due process violated by the prosecutor on the ground that...

U.S. District Court rules Dancorp Investors' standing intact to defend patents.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Did the plaintiff assign its ownership rights in two of its patents to another company, thus preventing it from suing the defendant for patent infringement? This was the central question that the U.S. District...

Phillips Lytle to sponsor events for 50th anniversary of 'Brown v. Board of Education'.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Staff Phillips Lytle, LLP is sponsoring a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. The ruling resulted in the historic decision of 'separate but equal' as...

Harris Beach partner selected as trustee of NY Power Authority.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Staff Michael J. Townsend, a partner in the Rochester office of Harris Beach LLP, has been appointed by Gov. George Pataki to serve as a trustee of the New York Power Authority. Townsend's appointment was confirmed by the New York...

New York Court of Appeals lists January filings.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week and filed with the New York State Court of Appeals. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on...

Rochester Legal Briefs: March 5, 2004.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller CRIMINAL DECISIONS Evidence Supports Indictment A motion to reduce or dismiss the indictment filed against the defendant is denied. "Upon this court's review of said grand jury minutes, it is determined...

Buffalo School of Law hosts panel discussion on advancing law school diversity.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Staff A panel including David L. Chambers, Charles E. Daye, Margaret E. Montoya, Marjorie M. Schulz and Frank H. Wu will be featured at a March 8 "2004 Mitchell Lecture" at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law....

Garry Graber to head upstate NY chapter of Turnaround Management Association.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Staff Garry M. Graber, practice group leader of Hodgson Russ LLP's Bankruptcy & Commercial Litigation Group, has been elected president of the Turnaround Management Association's Upstate New York Chapter, which represents...

NY State Bar Assn.'s Elder Law Section criticizes state budget proposals.
March 5, 2004... Byline: Staff The New York State Bar Association's Elder Law Section has issued a report critical of pending budget proposals that would reduce New York's share of the cost for the federal Medicaid program by significantly increasing...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court determines tax refund to be a joint asset.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones How should a joint income tax refund be distributed where one spouse has filed for bankruptcy and the other has not? Is the bankruptcy estate entitled to one half of the refund or is the refund proportionate to the...

Webster Town Court judge rules fourth conviction for DWAI classified as traffic infraction.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Should the defendant's fourth conviction for Driving While Ability Impaired be classified as a traffic infraction or a misdemeanor? This was the central issue before Webster Town Court in the People v. Judith C....

Monroe County Court Judge Patricia Marks announces re-election bid.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Staff Monroe County Court Judge Patricia D. Marks will seek re-election for a third term in the upcoming November election. Judge Marks has been a County Court Judge since 1985. New York State Chief Judge Judith Kaye appointed...

Monroe County Bar Assn. Trusts & Estates Section presents ethics legal education program.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones What if, during the administration of an estate, the attorney notices that there are several financial discrepancies that appear to be the estate executor's inappropriate transactions, to the detriment of the estate?...

New York State Court of Appeals lists more January filings.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week and filed with the New York State Court of Appeals. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on...

Webster, Buffalo and Hamburg businesses no longer backed by Better Business Bureau.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Staff The Board of Directors of the Better Business Bureau, Inc. voted to revoke the membership of Vanhatten Movers of Webster, Aqueduct Construction of Buffalo and Woodleee Builders & Development Inc. of Hamburg. The bureau's...

Failure to appear at hearing warrants reversal in child support modification.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Is a request for a modification in child support a separate action which causes the issuance of a new summons and service on the respondent governed by Family Court Act s.s. 426 and 427 or is the request considered a...

U.S. District Court judge rules treating physicians' opinions were improperly discounted.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Deborah Fauver How much of the medical record must an agency's reviewing physician examine in order for an Administrative Law Judge to weight that opinion as more important than that of a treating physician? A reviewing...

NY State Bar Assn.'s Environmental Law section names minority fellows.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Staff The New York State Bar Association's Environmental Law Section announced that three law students have been selected to receive minority fellowships in environmental law. This year's fellowship recipients include: *...

Erie County honors 10 women for National Women's History Month.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones In conjunction with the celebration of National Women's History Month in March, Erie County will once again honor 10 local "Women of Accomplishment." This is the third annual celebration to recognize professional...

Rochester attorney Ray O'Neill spends his free time as a referee on the basketball court.
March 9, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen During the day, attorney Ray O'Neill is likely to be in the courtroom. At night, he goes to another court - the basketball court. It is there that he wears a black and white striped referee shirt. While most of us...

NY State Court of Appeals remands religious use tax exemption claim.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Did the courts improperly impose a precondition on the taxpayer/petitioner before it would authorize a religious use tax exemption? This was the central question before New York State's highest court in In the...

U.S. District Court for W. District of NY deems auto design defect evidence admissible.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Where the plaintiff seeks damages for injuries in an automobile accident, was her expert witness qualified to speak to design defect in the vehicle? Was the method that the expert used to reach his opinions reliable?...

NY State Supreme Court rules leg injury caused by sliding sheetrock not within meaning of Labor Law.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Did the trial court err in dismissing plaintiff's Labor Law s. 240(1) claim in Allen Millard v. Hueber-Breuer Construction Co., Inc. and Murnane Building Contractors, Inc.? Did the accident causing plaintiff's...

American Bar Assn. cites ethical risks of posting bond for criminal clients.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Staff Significant ethical risks prohibit criminal defense lawyers from arranging or posting bond for clients in all but the rarest of cases; but there may be tactical reasons for them to do so, and circumstances where they may. ...

Women United putting together innovative fundraising events for Rochester's United Way.
March 10, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Several diverse teams of women have been meeting on a regular basis to plan and execute the details of eight special fundraising events that will bolster the 2004 United Way of Greater Rochester campaign, provide...

NY appellate court rules will not affected by anti-lapse statute.
March 11, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Were nieces and nephews of the decedent entitled to take their deceased parent's portions of the Wilson M. Sawyer estate? Does the anti-lapse statute apply to testamentary dispositions made to decedent's siblings who...

'Least restrictive environment' for disabled student questioned in case before U.S. District Court.
March 11, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Where the plaintiff suffers from various disorders, was he placed in the "least restrictive environment" when he was sent to a Pennsylvania facility even though his family resides in Western New York? Under the...

Justice Egan to handle civil case in Monroe Supreme Court.
March 11, 2004... Byline: Staff Administrative Judge Thomas M. VanStrydonck announced that Supreme Court Justice David D. Egan will be assigned full time to handle civil cases in Monroe Supreme Court. In the interim while Justice Egan is assigned new...

NY State Bar Assn.'s Levin scolds AIG for insensitive remarks about nation's trial attorneys.
March 11, 2004... Byline: Staff In a sharply worded letter to AIG Chairman Maurice Greenberg, New York State Bar Association President A. Thomas Levin called on the head of the world's largest insurance conglomerate to apologize to the families of those who...

NY State Supreme Court rules breach of fiduciary duties not established.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Does an attorney for a fiduciary owe the same duty to a beneficiary as he or she does to the fiduciary? Should the plaintiffs' claims for attorney malpractice and breach of fiduciary duties proceed? These were the...

U.S. District Court rules that inconsistencies in verdicts not a viable argument.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Is the petitioner entitled to habeas relief based on his claim that his appellate attorney failed to raise certain issues on direct appeal? In Timothy Muldrow v. Victor Herbert, Superintendent, Attica Correctional...

Child permanency mediation provides alternative solutions for Monroe County Family Court.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Staff Monroe County Family Court judges have a new option in handling the difficult cases where children have been placed in foster care and need decisions made about their future. Appropriate cases may be referred from family...

McCall is guest speaker at Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys lunch.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Talking about legal opportunities and alternative legal careers in the Rochester area, Jennifer McCall of McCall Staffing Associates, LTD spoke to nearly two dozen women attorneys who made time in their schedules to...

FitzGerald and Roach join Rochester office of Hiscock & Barclay.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Staff Intellectual property attorneys Thomas FitzGerald and Laurence Roach have joined the Rochester office of Hiscock & Barclay, LLP as of counsel. Both FitzGerald and Roach have the advantage of substantial engineering...

Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York announces board.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Staff The Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York announced their Board of Directors for 2004. Roger Arnold of Empire Financial Services will serve as Chairman of the Board. Board members include: Steven Abramson - Pace...

Kathleen Reilly speaks at nursing home law conference in Alabama.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Staff Damon & Morey attorney Kathleen M. Reilly was a featured speaker at the 16th Annual Nursing Home Law Conference in Birmingham, Alabama on Jan. 23. An experienced health care attorney and risk management advisor, Reilly...

Giangreco opens new law firm in downtown Buffalo.
March 12, 2004... Byline: Staff Mark Giangreco, formerly a partner in the law firm of O'Brien, Boyd & Giangreco in Amherst, has formed a new firm in downtown Buffalo. Concentrating on personal injury law, the firm leverages Giangreco's 15-plus years of...

Monroe County Court assesses offender level status of defendant.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Should the defendant, a convicted sex offender, be assessed 90 points, pursuant to the risk assessment instrument, for acts involving three children under the age of 10? Should the defendant be assessed as a level 3...

Lifelong health insurance benefits promise not established in collective bargaining agreement.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Is there anything written in the collective bargaining agreements to support the plaintiffs' claims that the defendants promised to provide them with health insurance benefits for life? Alleging that the defendants...

American Bar Assn. calls on U.S. Senate to reject proposed flag desecration ban.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Staff American Bar Association President Dennis W. Archer called on the U.S. Senate to reject a proposed constitutional amendment authorizing Congress to prohibit physical desecration of the flag, calling it bad constitutional...

New York Bar Foundation names 12 new directors.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Staff Twelve lawyers have been elected to serve on the board of directors of The New York Bar Foundation (TNYBF), the charitable and philanthropic arm of the New York State Bar Association. Terms for the following directors...

Three women inducted into NY State Senate's 'Women Of Distinction'.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Staff Joining over 40 other women who have been recognized for their outstanding community and professional services and groundbreaking achievements, three women were added to the New York State Senate's "Women of Distinction"...

Frank S. Hagelberg joins Boylan, Brown, Code, Vigdor & Wilson LLP's real estate group.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Staff Frank S. Hagelberg has joined Boylan, Brown, Code, Vigdor & Wilson LLP as counsel in the firm's Commercial Real Estate Group. He will concentrate his practice on land use regulation, commercial real estate leasing and...

Rochester Legal Briefs: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller CRIMINAL DECISIONS Motion Denied A motion to dismiss the indictment due to insufficient evidence is denied. The defendant is charged with two counts of Forgery in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession...

Phillips Lytle Attorneys develop HIPAA manual for NY physicians.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Staff In an effort to provide succinct, user-friendly information on HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliance, two attorneys at Phillips Lytle LLP have developed The New York State Physician's...

Probable cause existed to arrest defendant.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Did the defendant's car accident give the police probable cause to arrest him? This was the central issue before Webster Town Court in the People v. James R. Conway. The defendant was charged with common law driving...

Court finds age discrimination claims without merit.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Deborah Fauver Does a supervisor's belittling treatment of a senior-level employee amount to an adverse employment action? Not when the incidents appear to have been isolated and sporadic, concluded U.S. District Court Judge John...

Restraining order freezes Credit Card Services funds.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Staff The New York State Attorney General's office has filed a lawsuit against an advance-fee credit card scam operating in Western New York. According to legal papers, Credit Card Services and its operator, Richard E. Wood...

Court system clarifies new law guardian process; $50,000 cap.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Staff Since the new law guardian process went into effect on Jan. 1, there have been a number of questions on how to apply the "$50,000 Rule" (s.36.2(d)(2)) to the new process. The "$50,000 Rule" prohibits a compensated...

Rochester area home sales remain cool.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller The number of single family existing home sales continued to drop in the New Year. According to the Greater Rochester Association of Realtors, 682 purchase offers were accepted in February, down 7.6 percent from January...

NY State Court of Appeals lists filings for Jan. 9-15, 2004.
March 16, 2004... Byline: Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week and filed with the New York State Court of Appeals. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on...

Racial, religious discrimination claims proceed.
March 17, 2004... Byline: Deborah Fauver Could a non-decision maker have injected sufficient discriminatory animus into a college hiring decision to fall afoul of the Civil Rights Act? Perhaps so, concluded U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer in...

Confidential informant exists; deemed reliable by court.
March 17, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Is the confidential informant who provided information which led to the defendant's arrest reliable? Does this informant actually exist? These were the central issues before New York State Supreme Court in the...

JDs v. MDs: Lawyers group wins 2004 Battle of Bands.
March 17, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones The Foundation of the Monroe County Bar, The Commission Project and St. Joseph's Neighborhood Center were the beneficiaries a "Battle of Bands" contest held on Saturday, March 6. Leigh Virkus served as chairman of...

Battisti Brothers, City of Rochester reach settlement in landfill action.
March 17, 2004... Byline: Staff Faraci & Lange attorney Anthony DiNitto, who represented the Battisti Brothers Development in a claim against the City of Rochester involving contaminated landfill, reported that a settlement agreement has been reached...

Conditional discharge equivalent to probation, court rules.
March 17, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Is a conditional discharge functionally equivalent to probation? Did the probation officer err when he assigned one criminal history point for the defendant's conviction of Harassment in the Second Degree? These...

Employment discrimination action dismissed.
March 18, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Was the plaintiff's employment discrimination claim filed within the 300-day required time period? Finding that the plaintiff's action was time-barred, U.S. District Court Judge Charles J. Siragusa for the U.S....

Defendant remanded to custody pending sentencing.
March 18, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Did the U.S. District Court err when it released the defendant on bail pending sentencing? In USA v. John Lea, the government appeals an order from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York,...

Mock trial teams whittled down to two in Monroe County.
March 18, 2004... Byline: Nora A. Jones Last Thursday, groups of students from four local high schools participated in the semi-finals of this year's Monroe County Mock Trial Tournament. Tonight, last week's winning teams - McQuaid Jesuit High School and...

Rochester atty. named to BTI Consulting Group's 'Client Service All-Star Team'.
March 18, 2004... Byline: Staff Cheryl A. Heller, a founding partner of Ward Norris Heller & Reidy, has been designated to the BTI Consulting Group's "Client Service All-Star Team." The list is developed from client nominations received during BTI's...

Insurance carrier has no duty to preserve damaged vehicle, spoliation not established.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Does an insurance carrier/owner have a duty to preserve a vehicle damaged by fire in order to allow parties the opportunity to inspect the vehicle? Does the insurance carrier/owner's failure to preserve the vehicle...

U.S. District Court finds plaintiff's psychological disorder at issue in disability case.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen Did the administrative law judge err when he determined that the plaintiff was not entitled to disability benefits based on the plaintiff's history of alcoholism? Yes, ruled U.S. District Court Judge David G....

Greater Rochester Assn. for Women Attorneys seeks nominations for Family Friendly Employer Award.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Staff The Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, in conjunction with the Monroe County Bar Association, is currently soliciting nominations for the GRAWA/MCBA Family Friendly Employer Award. This award will be...

Jon L. Schumacher discusses recent developments in tax regulations.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Jill Miller Many local attorneys braved the frigid winter conditions on Tuesday, March 16 to attend, "Recent Developments in Tax Regulations," a continuing legal education program held at the Monroe County Bar Center for Education....

Section 202.5 regarding commencing an action amended by Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Staff Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts Jonathan Lippman, with the advice and consent of the Administrative Board of the Courts, hereby amends, effective immediately, section 202.5 of the Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme...

New York State Court of Appeals lists more January filings.
March 19, 2004... Byline: Staff A list of appeals with short title, jurisdictional predicate, subject matter and key issues is prepared each week and filed with the New York State Court of Appeals. Some of these filed appeals may never reach decision on...

Class certification granted in ERISA action.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Helen Nguyen In a case where the plaintiffs seek payment of retirement benefits, should the court grant the plaintiffs' motion for class certification? Finding that the plaintiffs met the requirements under Rule 23 of the...