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For April 10, 2026 through April 16, 2026, the following preliminary appeal statements
were filed:
MATTER OF FLEISCHER v FRIEDMAN (246 AD3d 1084):
APL-2026-00042
2nd Dept. App. Div. order of 2/25/26; modification; sua sponte examination of whether
the order appealed from finally determines the proceeding within the meaning of the
Constitution and whether any jurisdictional basis exists for an appeal as of right;
Arbitration--Award--Whether the arbitration award was properly confirmed;
alleged constitutional violations; Supreme Court, Queens County, in a proceeding under
CPLR article 75 to confirm an arbitration award dated August 15, 2019, upon an order of
the same court, dated May 4, 2021, granted the petition and denied the cross-motion of
Rafe Friedman to vacate or modify the arbitration award and to seal documents
referencing psychiatric information, confirmed the arbitration award, and awarded
petitioner prejudgment interest from August 15, 2019; App. Div. modified by awarding
petitioner prejudgment interest from September 14, 2019, as so modified affirmed, and
remitted to Supreme Court for a calculation of prejudgment interest and entry of an
amended judgment.
PEOPLE v NORLITE (246
AD3d 1346):
APL-2026-00041
3rd Dept. App. Div. order of 2/26/26; affirmance; whether the order appealed from finally
determines the action within the meaning of the Constitution and whether a substantial
constitutional question is directly involved in the order appealed from; Environmental
Conservation--Air Pollution Control--Whether state plaintiffs' motion to dismiss
intervenor's cross-claims seeking, among other things, a declaration that permitting
the continued operation of defendant's industrial facility violates intervenor's rights
to a clean and healthful environment under the Green Amendment to the New York
Constitution (NY Const, art I, § 19), was properly granted; whether the Green
Amendment provides a private right of action; Supreme Court, Albany County, among
other things, granted a motion by certain plaintiffs to partially dismiss certain
cross-claims; App. Div. affirmed.
WESLOWSKI v ZUGIBE (— AD3d —, 2026 NY Slip Op 01244):
APL-2026-00039
2nd Dept. App. Div. order of 3/4/26; affirmance; whether the order appealed from finally
determines the action within the meaning of the Constitution and whether a substantial
constitutional question is directly involved in the order appealed from; Motions and
Orders; Supreme Court, Rockland County, denied plaintiff's motion to direct the entry of
a final judgment against plaintiff and granted defendants' cross-motion for sanctions;
App. Div. affirmed.
For April 17, 2026 through April 23, 2026, the following preliminary appeal statements
were filed:
PEOPLE v BROWN-SHOOK (SALINA) (245 AD3d 1028):
APL-2026-00036
3rd Dept. App. Div. order of 1/15/26; reversal; leave to appeal granted by Clark, J.,
3/19/26; Crimes--Plea of Guilty--Withdrawal of Plea--Whether the Appellate
Division erred in concluding that the exception to the preservation requirement
applied to defendant's challenge to her plea based on her statements at a post-plea
hearing on her application for alternative sentencing--Whether the Appellate
Division erred by vacating defendant's guilty plea; Crimes--Whether defendant was
denied the effective assistance of counsel; County Court, Rensselaer County, convicted
defendant, upon her plea of guilty, of the crimes of assault in the second degree and
criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree; App. Div. reversed a judgment of
conviction and remitted for further proceedings.
FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION v WEISS (— AD3d —, 2026 NY Slip Op
01339):
APL-2026-00043
2nd Dept. App. Div. order of 3/11/26; affirmance; sua sponte examination of whether a
substantial constitutional question is directly involved in the order appealed from;
Mortgages--Foreclosure--Whether the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act's
retroactive application violates procedural and substantive due process or the
prohibition against the impairment of contracts; Supreme Court, Kings County, in an
action to foreclose on a mortgage, granted the motion of defendants David Weiss and
Maleic Heisenberg, sued herein as John Doe, for summary judgment dismissing the
complaint as time-barred and on their counterclaim pursuant to RPAPL 1501(4) to cancel
and discharge of record the mortgage.; App. Div. affirmed.
MATTER OF THE PEOPLE BY JAMES v COMMONS WEST (— AD3d —, 2026 NY Slip Op
01253):
APL-2026-00035
3rd Dept. App. Div. order of 3/5/26; affirmance; Civil Rights--Discrimination in
Housing--Whether Executive Law § 296(5)(a)(1), which forbids housing
discrimination based on individuals' lawful source of income, including housing
assistance under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, is
unconstitutional on its face because it effectively requires landlords to take part in
the Section 8 program, which in turn obligates landlords to consent to warrantless
searches of their premises and records in violation of the Fourth Amendment;
Supreme Court, Tompkins County, in a proceeding under Executive Law § 63(12),
granted respondents' motion to dismiss the petition; Supreme Court, Tompkins County,
among other things, granted respondents' cross-motion for summary judgment on their
counterclaim for a declaration that Executive Law § 296(5)(a)(1) is unconstitutional on its
face; App. Div. affirmed.
MATTER OF JONAH M. (— AD3d —, 2026 NY Slip Op 01905):
APL-2026-00044
4th Dept. App. Div. order of 3/27/26; affirmance; sua sponte examination of whether the
dissent at the Appellate Division is on a question of law; Parent, Child and Family--
Termination of Parental Rights--Whether petitioner established by clear and
convincing evidence that it made diligent efforts to encourage and strengthen the
relationship between the father and the child and that the father failed to plan for
the child's future; Family Court, Onondaga County, in a proceeding pursuant to Social
Services Law § 384-b, among other things, terminated the parental rights of respondent
with respect to the subject child; App. Div., with two Justices dissenting, affirmed.
PEOPLE v ORTIZ (ROBERT) (233 AD3d 628):
APL-2026-00031
1st Dept. App. Div. order of 12/31/24; affirmance; leave to appeal granted by Troutman,
J., 3/17/26; Courts--Appellate Division--Whether the Appellate Division lacked
jurisdiction, under CPL 470.15 (1) and People v LaFontaine (92 NY2d 470 [1998]), to
determine whether defendant was subject to a strip search; Crimes--Unlawful
Search and Seizure--Whether defendant was subject to a strip search when a police
officer pulled his pants and underwear forward and reached into defendant's
underwear to retrieve a bag that contained drugs; Supreme Court, New York County,
denied defendant's CPL 440.10 motion to vacate his conviction; Supreme Court, New
York County, convicted defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal possession of a controlled
substance in the third degree, and sentenced him, as a second felony drug offender
previously convicted of a violent felony, to a term of six years; App. Div. affirmed a
judgment of the Supreme Court, New York County, and an order of the same court that
denied defendant's CPL 440.10 motion to vacate his conviction.