Firm Blog

First Time PPP Loan Recipients On December 27,2020, a new COVID relief bill was signed into law changing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to make some businesses eligible for a “second” PPP loan and expand the pool of possible “first” PPP loan recipients.  Last week, the SBA announced that the PPP will re-open on January 11th for certain new borrowers (with the initial funding…

On Friday, June 5th, President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPP Flexibility Act) into law. The PPP Flexibility Act modifies the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) that was created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) providing some welcome relief to many businesses currently using PPP loan proceeds and concerned about obtaining full loan forgiveness. The…

Hello all!  You’re all doing the impossible!  You’re educators.  You do the impossible every day.  And now you’re doing it to a large degree from home.  You are pressing on for the same reason you got started as educators – because you want to help children.   We’re here to support you in determining and meeting your legal obligations, whether it is with normal, day-to-day…

Attorneys are being inundated with questions about how the Coronavirus impacts the performance/nonperformance of contractual obligations.  In most situations, the answer lies in the contracts themselves in “force majeure” provisions.  New York’s highest court has described a “force majeure” clause as a contractual provision “excusing nonperformance due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties”. Kel Kim v. Central Markets, 70 N.Y.2d 900, 902…

At a news briefing on February 25, 2020, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control, indicated it was not a matter of “if” but “when” an outbreak of the coronavirus, that has been plaguing China and other parts of the world, will begin to spread in the United States. Already, many school districts…

On September 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule that the agency estimates will make 1.3 million American workers newly eligible for overtime pay.  Starting January 1, 2020, the salary threshold for an “exempt” employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) will increase from $455 per week ($23,660 annually) to $648 per week ($35,568 annually).  Workers who do not…

In June, New York eliminated exemptions based on religious belief from the state’s requirement that children receive certain vaccinations as a condition of attendance at schools and child care facilities.  An action filed on July 10, 2019 in Supreme Court, Albany County, F.F. on behalf of her minor children, Y.F., E.F. Y.F. v. State of New York, is challenging the repeal.  In addition to…

For over 45 years, New York’s Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”) has given individuals the right to obtain copies of records maintained by public agencies, including state and local governments, subject to certain exemptions.  With the proliferation of email and other electronic communication methods, local governments often face a daunting administrative task of redacting exempt, non-public information from otherwise accessible records before releasing them…

On February 13, 2019, I appeared and spoke at a Public Service Commission ("PSC") hearing on the Con Edison Natural Gas Moratorium. Many of our public and private clients are greatly impacted by Con Edison’s sudden announcement of the moratorium on January 18, 2019, which is to go into effect one month from now, on March 15th. My comments are not on behalf of…

While you may be tempted to rush to court to seek justice, it is important to first exhaust all other avenues of appeals.  If you fail to “exhaust administrative remedies” prior to commencing an action in court you may find yourself right back where you started. In municipal and land use law, administrative remedies are most commonly available when the local city, town or…