New York Law Watch
Appellate Division, First Department
The First Department sits in Manhattan and hears appeals from the trial courts of New York and Bronx Counties. Its commercial and real property docket is the heaviest in the state and its criminal decisions set the rules for Manhattan and Bronx prosecutions.
For Appellate Division, First Department, Law Watch lists 336 indexable decisions dated January 13, 2026 to November 12, 2026 across 18 decision weeks.
442 decision records: 336 meet the substance floor; 106 records are held from search listings.
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Recent decisions
- Tenelema v H.T. Lyons Inc.2026 NY Slip Op 06587
The Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s grant of leave to serve a late notice of claim against Lavelle School for the Blind. The plaintiff failed to demonstrate that the defendant had actual knowledge of the essential facts of the claim or provided a reasonable excuse for the delay in filing.
- Shahid v New York Columbia-Presbyt. Hosp. Irving Med. Ctr.2026 NY Slip Op 06586
The dismissal of the medical malpractice complaint was affirmed because the plaintiff was not an authorized representative of the decedent’s estate and lacked the capacity to sue pro se. The court determined that only a personal representative with letters of administration could maintain the wrongful death and personal injury claims.
- Sanchez v Hanne2026 NY Slip Op 06585
The court affirmed summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for serious injury because the defendants established that the plaintiff’s left knee injury was not causally related to the accident. The plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact as his medical records were uncertified and his expert report was unaffirmed, leaving the defendants’ radiologist’s findings of chronic degeneration unrefuted.
- Matter of C.R.2026 NY Slip Op 06584
The petition was properly dismissed for facial insufficiency because the uncertified, unverified, and unsigned grand jury minutes submitted were hearsay, and the petition did not otherwise contain any nonhearsay allegations. The Presentment Agency was permitted to appeal the dismissal order because the respondent’s motion to dismiss was filed untimely, causing the order to be entered after the fact-finding hearing had commenced.
- People v Fioranelli2026 NY Slip Op 06582
The conviction for assault in the third degree and official misconduct was affirmed because the evidence was legally sufficient and not against the weight of the evidence. The court determined that the defendant, a police officer, lacked reasonable grounds to use pepper spray on a restrained victim.
- People v J.M.2026 NY Slip Op 06580
The appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence but modified the judgment by striking probation conditions 14, 15, and 24 as unopposed. The court upheld the remaining probation conditions as reasonably related to the defendant’s rehabilitation, while declining to review unpreserved constitutional challenges.
- People v Henry2026 NY Slip Op 06579
The conviction for attempted burglary in the second degree was reversed due to ineffective assistance of counsel, as the grand jury evidence was legally insufficient to establish the requisite intent to commit a crime. The court found that counsel’s failure to properly litigate the insufficiency of the evidence after receiving the grand jury minutes implicated the voluntariness of the defendant’s guilty plea and waiver of appeal.
- People v Jimenez2026 NY Slip Op 06577
The court held that the detective lacked a good faith basis to believe the driver had authority to consent to the search of a bag she explicitly denied owning. Consequently, the search was unlawful, and the resulting evidence, including narcotics and items from a subsequent warrant, was suppressed.