Two Short, But Sweet NY Court of Appeals Decisions

The New York Court of Appeals recently handed down a number of interesting decisions.  Here are summaries of 2 short, but relevant, decisions:

• Zorn v Gilbert, 2007 NY Slip Op 02793--The Court considered the issue of whether the continuous representation doctrine applied to toll the three year statute of limitations where legal malpractice was claimed.  The Court held that "(p)laintiff's cause of action accrued, at the latest, on December 4, 1997, when a judgment of divorce was entered in the underlying action...Defendants' representation of plaintiff in the underlying action ended, at the earliest, in June 1998. Inasmuch as this action was commenced in May 2001, the Appellate Division erred in holding that plaintiff's cause of action alleging legal malpractice was time-barred."
• Branham v Loews Orpheum Cinemas, Inc. 2007 NY Slip Op 02792--The Court held that summary judgment in favor of Loews was properly granted where Loews established its entitlement to summary judgment and the plaintiff failed to meet its burden of proving that Loews had notice of the alleged dangerous condition.  The Court stated that the plaintiff failed to prove that "Loews had actual or constructive notice of the transient obstruction — a boy sitting in the aisle — or that the lighting in the theater was inadequate."