LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Showing posts with label #newlaw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #newlaw. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 09, 2022

New York Establishes Office of the Advocate for People with Disabilities

New law establishes Office of the Advocate for People with Disabilities. The Office assures that disabled people are afforded the opportunity to exercise all of the rights and responsibilities accorded to citizens of New York.

Operating under the Department of State, the Office shall advise and assist state agencies in developing policies designed to help meet the needs of the disabled by:

  • Coordinating the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act;
  • Ensuring that state programs do not discriminate against disabled people; 
  • Ensuring that programs provide appropriate services for disabled individuals; and 
  • Working with state agencies to develop legislation and potential regulatory changes.
The Office will be headed by a Director, appointed by the Governor. 

Landlords should be actively removing barriers to access so that this new Advocate doesn't bring suit against them for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 



Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Third-Party Delivery Services Cannot Sell or Advertise Merchant's Products Without a Valid Agreement with the Merchant

On December 21, 2021, Gov. Hochul signed Bill A04651 into law, which requires third-party delivery services to have a valid agreement with merchants before advertising, promoting, or selling any of the merchant's products on their platforms. 


So going forward, third-party delivery services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, and GrubHub must have valid agreements with local restaurants before promoting or selling any of the restaurants' food/products. There is no question, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, local restaurants have utilized third-party delivery service platforms to further promote their businesses, to generate new customers, and to increase overall exposure to local communities. At the same time, the use of third-party food delivery services has exploded and these third-party food delivery services have gotten away with charging local restaurants excessive fees and commissions on the delivery of a restaurant's food/products, which have diminished a restaurant's overall profit. 


This new legislation also forbids any indemnity clauses in these agreements. It is common for many third-party food delivery services to attempt to limit their own liability for any issues related to the food itself or for any accidents that occur during the delivery process. This is why third-party service agreements often contain an indemnity clause, which is a "risk-shifting" provision, in which a restaurant agrees to defend, reimburse, and hold harmless a third-party food delivery service for any and all claims arising out of the third-party food delivery services' scope of work.  


This new legislation ensures that restaurants in New York State will know precisely what fees/commissions a third-party food delivery service will charge on deliveries and also protects restaurants against claims arising from the delivery of their food/products. 


Violations of this new legislation can result in a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. Additionally, a restaurant has the right to file a lawsuit for damages, which includes the civil penalty of $1,000 per violation, injunctive relief, and may even be awarded reasonable court costs and attorney's fees at the court's discretion. 


Will we see fewer restaurants advertised on third-party delivery services apps going forward in light of this new legislation? 


Will we see a snowball effect of increased lawsuits against third-party delivery services? 


Time will tell...





It's Official! Lenders Must Maintain Vacated Residential Property at the Start of a Foreclosure Action

As you may recall, a proposed bill (S1579A) was submitted to Gov. Hochul earlier this month seeking to amend the RPAPL and require lenders, assignees, or mortgage loan servicers to maintain and upkeep vacant residential property at the beginning of a foreclosure action, rather than towards the end of it. 


On December 21, 2021, Gov. Hochul signed the bill into law and it became effective immediately. 


Lenders are likely not thrilled about this new legislation considering they now face the burdensome task of maintaining and upkeeping vacated residential homes throughout the entire foreclosure process, which as we all know, could last months or even years. 


Lenders could also face the risk of being accused of trespass for gaining access to what is a supposed to be a vacant residential home that is being foreclosed upon. It is certainly not uncommon for homeowners to continue residing at a foreclosed home especially at the commencement of a foreclosure action.  


What kind of ripple effect will this new legislation have on residential foreclosure actions going forward?


Stay tuned over the coming months to find out....








Thursday, November 04, 2021

Builders Required to Provide Cost Estimate of Fire Sprinkler System Beginning September 1, 2022


Starting September 1, 2022, prospective buyers of newly built one or two-family homes will now become aware of the possibility of a fire damaging their home, and have the opportunity to reduce this risk prior to even beginning construction.

 

On November 4, 2021, Governor Hochul signed Bill S1383 into law, which amends Section 759-a of the General Business Law. Beginning September 1, 2022, builders of one- or two-family homes with less than three stories will be required to provide a buyer with a cost estimate for the installation and maintenance of an automatic fire sprinkler system. The builder must also provide a copy of written materials prepared by the office of fire prevention and control which details the benefits of and includes factors that can affect the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of an automatic fire sprinkler. If the buyer requests the installation of the automatic fire sprinkler system, the builder shall install it at the buyer’s expense.

 

Fire Sprinkler systems are an effective device in the event of a fire and are not uncommon. Many structures such as commercial buildings and multi-family homes are required to install such devices in the State of New York. The justifications for this bill seem very convincing, and this bill will allow prospective homeowners who are planning new construction with a cost estimate for installation of a fire sprinkler system which could ultimately, save their house or even more importantly, their lives.

Friday, September 10, 2021

The Fight to Stop Source of Income Discrimination in NYC

NYC Council has enacted local law 1339-2019, which amends Title 21 of the NYC Administrative Code by adding section 21-142, requiring the DSS to provide CityFHEPS (a rental assistance program designed to help individuals and families find and keep housing) applicants with written notice about source of income discrimination at the time an applicant receives a shopping letter from the DSS. 


The notice would provide information about protections under the NYC Human Rights Law related to source of income discrimination.  


The notice will provide the following: 

  • Examples of phrases that may indicate discrimination based on lawful source of income.
  • A statement that it is illegal for landlords, brokers, and other housing agents to request additional payments for rent, security deposit, or broker's fee because an individual receives rental assistance.
  • A statement that it is illegal for landlords, brokers, and other housing agents to publish any type of advertisement that indicates a refusal to accept rental assistance.
  • A statement that an individual has a right to be free from discriminatory, harassing, or threatening behavior or comments based on individuals' receipt of rental assistance. 
  • Contact information for the department's source of income discrimination unit.


Clearly, this local law significantly stops landlords from discriminating against prospective or existing tenants that qualify for source of income under the CityFHEPS program. On the flip side of the coin, the law undoubtedly benefits those receiving source of income from the CityFHEPS program and prospective tenant applicants of the CityFHEPS program, by greatly reducing the likelihood of landlord discrimination based on source of income, while also providing a method to report any future source of income discrimination. 


What's missing is that CityFHEPS recipients should know that they can file suit and get their attorneys' fees paid if they are victims of discrimination. While the BYC Council has made it clear that source of income discrimination will not be tolerable on any level, are landlords prepared to avoid claims of discrimination?  


Landlords - what are you doing to enact policies so your teams don't discriminate?