63 results for 'judge:"Reynolds Fitzgerald"'.
[Consolidated.] J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly awarded a mother primary custody as the parent who could better provide structure and discipline for the parties' child. However, the record did not support an order requiring the mother to keep her child in the school district where she began kindergarten under the father's care. Due to the subsequent passage of time, remittal is necessary to evaluate that point. Meanwhile, the father was improperly awarded attorney fees since both parties stipulated to covering their own costs. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 533969, Categories: Family Law, Attorney Discipline
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of assault for repeatedly punching his former paramour's ex-boyfriend in the face after finding him naked in her bed. Defendant contends evidence did not support the verdict, but medical experts testified to the extent of the injuries, which included cheekbone, jawbone, and orbital fractures. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 113505, Categories: Evidence, Assault, Experts
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court improperly dismissed certain wrongful death and workplace injury claims brought after plaintiff's husband died in a grain elevator accident. Claims against subsidiary ADM Milling were barred since plaintiff received workers' compensation death benefits, but dismissal against parent Archer Daniels Midland was premature since questions remained unresolved concerning the parties responsible for the accident site, personnel, and equipment. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 535529, Categories: Wrongful Death, Workers' Compensation
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly issued a two-year order of protection based on the finding that a father stalked the mother of his child because evidence amply indicates the father meant to annoy or harass the mother, and a best interests analysis supported the decision to award the mother sole legal and primary physical custody. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: 533906, Categories: Family Law, Restraining Order
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J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court improperly dismissed rape charges in an indictment on grounds that defendant's confession was insufficiently corroborated. Defendant admitted to climbing into bed with a long-time friend and engaging in consensual oral sex and intercourse with her, as well as digital penetration, but the bruising and vaginal injuries she reported could have been consistent with rape. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 113434, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly granted a school district dismissal of negligent supervision claims concerning several years of bullying because the record indicates the district investigated the reported incidents to find that plaintiffs' children often acted as instigators and aggressors. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: CV-22-2215, Categories: Education, Negligence
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly granted a mother's request to relocate with her child as necessitated by the military transfer of the mother's husband because the child's father received an offset of a block of weeks in the summer, specific school breaks, and additional time in their new state with reasonable notice. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 535300, Categories: Family Law
[Consolidated.] J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant based on his guilty plea to assault after a heavy night of drinking with a female acquaintance. Statements that raised potential defenses at sentencing should have been further explored, and defendant was not given a chance to withdraw his plea. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 110040, Categories: Assault, Plea
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald find that the lower court properly denied a husband's objections to an order entered by the support magistrate. The husband was due spousal support relief after his job was eliminated during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the income imputed to him, while correctly including household expenses that had been paid by his current wife, should not have included nonrecurring payments, such as the value of a Mexican vacation. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 535531, Categories: Family Law, Covid-19
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly held that three children were neglected by their father and mother/stepmother because the record indicates the parents subjected the children to excessive corporal punishment and domestic violence, that the son saw his mother and father having oral sex, and that his father showed him pornography. However, references in the order of disposition to testimony not admitted into evidence should be remitted to be stricken from the record. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 535238, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant based on his guilty plea to attempted burglary. Defendant challenges the voluntariness of his plea, but he did not make statements casting doubt on his guilt during the plea colloquy or sentencing. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 113579, Categories: Burglary, Plea
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant on his guilty plea to course of sexual conduct against a child. Defendant's claim that his request to withdraw the plea based on misinformation was belied by the plea colloquy, at which he offered no evidence of innocence, fraud or mistake in the plea's inducement. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 112088, Categories: Sex Offender, Plea
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of grand larceny for stealing merchandise from a home improvement store because defendant's intent to steal was proven by surveillance video that captured him loading power tools into a cart and leaving the store as a clerk attempted to stop him. Meanwhile, the value of the tools he had stolen met the $1,000 threshold. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: 111855, Categories: Evidence, Theft
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court improperly ordered habeas relief after a parolee absconded and was returned to prison for 30 months. Because he is a sex offender and his absconding could have led to a repeat offense, the parolee committed a "non-technical" violation of parole, which by statute permitted reincarcerated. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: July 27, 2023, Case #: CV-22-2198, Categories: Parole, Sex Offender
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the workers' compensation board properly held that a commuter train conductor did not sustain a compensable injury, namely, anxiety exacerbating preexisting psychiatric conditions, based on potential exposure to Covid-19 due to inadequate safety measures, as the conductor's stress was no greater than that experienced by comparable workers during the pandemic. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 535536, Categories: Covid-19, Workers' Compensation
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the workers' compensation board properly held that a cleaner for the transit authority did not sustain a job-related psychological injury because she failed to submit credible medical evidence establishing a causal connection between her anxiety and potential Covid-19 exposure at work due to inadequate safety measures. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 534608, Categories: Covid-19, Workers' Compensation
[Consolidated.] J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly held that a mother neglected her daughter and son and that her boyfriend abused the girl and derivatively neglected the boy. The daughter's out-of-court statements about the abuse were sufficiently corroborated by medical personnel who examined her to support findings entered against the boyfriend. The mother had been unaware of the abuse, but her inability to accept her boyfriend's role in such supported the neglect finding. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 533885, Categories: Family Law
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly altered a father's visitation schedule with his child because the father's voluntary relocation greatly increased travel time, and alterations to his work schedule rendered weekly visitations unworkable. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 535631, Categories: Family Law
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly declined to vacate defendant's conviction for assault, reckless driving, and driving while ability impaired after a night on the town ended in a crash that severely injured a passenger. Defendant contends counsel was ineffective for failing to seek a mistrial after two local newspapers published comments in which the judge accused defendant of dishonesty and misconduct, but the statements had been made outside the jury's presence and jurors had been admonished to avoid news reports on the trial. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 113556, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Judiciary, Dui
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly dismissed claims contending plaintiff slipped and fell while playing racquetball at a club because plaintiff did not cite online articles and blogs in contending the accident had been caused by dust on the playing surface until the club moved for summary judgment, and the claim was meritless in the face of testimony from experts and other players. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 535034, Categories: Civil Procedure, Tort, Experts
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court should have found for defendant in claims contending her dog bit her son's 15-year-old friend in the face because evidence did not indicate defendant had been on notice of the dog's vicious propensities, and the friend's father failed to raise issues of fact to defeat her request for summary judgment. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 535842, Categories: Negligence
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of rape and predatory sexual assault against a child for contact with a female relative between the time she was 9 and 15 years old. Defendant contends the child gave insufficiently detailed, repetitive accounts, but her testimony was corroborated by DNA evidence found on her clothing. However, criminal sexual act counts must be dismissed as inclusory of concurrent counts of predatory sexual assault against a child, and incest counts must be dismissed since DNA evidence could have applied to other male relatives. Affirmed in part.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 111219, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court properly found for an insurance company in claims contending it lost clients when two agents left to start their own firm because the employment contracts contained nonsolicitation clauses, and the employer had a valid interest in protecting business that had been developed over the years. The court properly held that questions of fact remained as to whether liquidated damages constituted a legitimate estimate of lost business or represented an unenforceable penalty. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 534011, Categories: Employment, Trade Secrets, Contract
J. Reynolds Fitzgerald finds that the lower court improperly dismissed a mother's request for primary custody of her son, who resides with his father, because holding a hearing would have permitted the soon-to-be 16-year-old son to testify, which would have been useful in determining changed circumstances. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Reynolds Fitzgerald, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 534788, Categories: Civil Procedure, Family Law