LIEB BLOG

Legal Analysts

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Great Architects Are Land Use Experts

As of right land use is the dimensional and physical limits that a town or village permits on a given parcel of property and which is set forth within a given town’s or village’s municipal code. Municipal codes throughout the East End can be found at ecode360.com and should be fully analyzed for as of right uses before a given parcel is purchased, especially when the purchase is being made with an eye towards development. These as of right land use laws cap the size, siting, materials, and engineering of structures while containing severe penalties for those who do not comply. These laws also differentiate the good architects from the great ones.

Read the full article in Dan's Papers by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here. 

Monday, August 06, 2018

Amendment To New York State Paid Family Leave Law Would Require Employers To Provide Paid Bereavement Leave

The New York State Senate and Assembly recently passed legislation to amend the New York Paid Family Leave Law, which went into effect in January 2018, to include paid time off for bereavement leave. The amendment, if signed by Governor Cuomo, would entitle qualified employees to use their Paid Family Leave to grieve the death of a family member.

The Paid Family Leave Law currently entitles qualified employees eight (8) weeks (increases to twelve (12) weeks by 2021) of paid leave for the following reasons:
  1. Provide care for a family member with a serious health condition;
  2. Bond with a child during the first twelve months after the child’s birth, adoption, or foster care placement;
  3. Due to exigent circumstances arising out of the employee’s spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent being on active duty in the armed forces of the United States.
Employers must ensure their insurance policies are updated to include coverage for Paid Family Leave which must include coverage for bereavement leave, if the Governor signs the legislation. In addition, employers should update their employee handbooks accordingly.

Wednesday, August 01, 2018

Service Requirements when Evicting a Tenant


When a landlord seeks to evict a tenant, the landlord needs to ensure compliance with service requirements. 

In New York, there are three ways that service is typically effectuated: (1) personal delivery (2) nail and mail; or (3) substituted service. 

When selecting a hearing date for the eviction proceeding, landlords must be mindful of the 5 and 12 Rule, as set forth in RPAPL §733The rule states that the tenant must be served no fewer than five days, but no more than twelve days prior to the hearing date. However, when is service complete?  

Although the rules vary slightly between the Housing and Justice Courts, generally speaking, the date the tenant is served does not count; the clock starts the date after the tenant was served.

However, the date of the hearing does count.

Putting it all together - if the hearing date is scheduled for a Wednesday, the last date to complete service would be the Friday before.

Also, if the final day of service falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the time to complete service is extended to the next business day.

Lastly – don’t ever serve the lawsuit on a Sunday or other religious holiday as this is prohibited by law.

Monday, July 30, 2018

Luxury Has Rules: Landscaper Licensing and Payment Info East Enders Must Know

Not every business can landscape the luxurious real estate on the East End. It takes a test, some fees, and possibly multiple hours of continuing education to be permitted to manicure our yards, install our swimming pools and nestle our homes within shrubs and trees. We are serious about our landscapes on the East End.

Read the full article by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in Danspapers here. 

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Mortgage Foreclosure SOL: 5-Prong Acceleration Test

A mortgage foreclosure lawsuit has a 6-year statute of limitations pursuant to CPLR §213(4). However, dismissal for statute of limitations purposes is largely dependent on lender error because lenders have the unilateral ability to deaccelerate a loan and thereby restart the accrual date of the statute of limitations. As a result, lenders may, through careful monitoring of the statute of limitations, avoid exposure to statute of limitations’ dismissal. To clarify, a lender cannot restart the accrual date for previously defaulted mortgage payments, which will continue to be subject to the 6-year statute of limitations and date of default accrual. Instead, a lender can only avoid statute of limitations dismissal with respect to future installment payments, which are only in default because of a lender’s prior election to contractually accelerate such payments, which is generally done by summons and complaint (e.g., pleading that lender “hereby elects to declare immediately due and payable the entire unpaid balance of principal”). It is these accelerated payments which may be deaccelerated to reset the accrual date for statute of limitations purposes and thereby preserve the lender’s right to future suit. However, whether a deacceleration election is effective has been fragmented in the case law until now.

Read the full article, be Andrew Lieb. Esq, published in The Suffolk Lawyer here.