N.Y. Appellate Division 2nd Department Overrules Precedent, Holding False Imputation of Homosexuality is not Defamatory Per Se

December 31, 2020

In Laguerre v. Maurice, 2020 WL 7636435, 2020 N.Y. App. LEXIS 8011, 2020 NY Slip Op 07887 (2^nd Dept., Dec. 23, 2020), a panel of the N.Y. Appellate Division, 2^nd Department, abandoned a departmental precedent dating from 1984, Matherson v. Marchello, 100 App. Div. 2d 233, finding that today a false statement that the plaintiff was a homosexual who watched gay porn on his employer’s computer is not defamatory per se… <Read More>

N.Y. Appellate Division Rules against Sperm Donor Seeking Paternity Determination and Custody

January 25, 2018

In a case showing the pressing need for revision and updating of New York’s Domestic Relations Law to reflect modern-day family realities and effectively take account of the existence of the N.Y. Marriage Equality Act, the Appellate Division, 3^rd Department, ruled on January 25 that a sperm donor to a lesbian married couple was “equitably estopped” from seeking a paternity determination regarding the child conceived using his sperm, and countermanded a ruling by Chemung … <Read More>