On September 28, 2017, a unanimous five-judge panel of the N.Y. Appellate Division, First Department, held that New York County Family Court Judge Stewart H. Weinstein had properly granted a motion by Han Ming T., the husband of Marco D., to vacate a May 2016 order that had granted an adoption petition by Carlos A., Marco’s boyfriend, to adopt a child conceived through gestational surrogacy using Marco’s sperm at a time when Marco and Han … <Read More>
New York Appellate Division First Department
Dangers of Home-Made Wills Shown by New York Appellate Ruling
A New York Appellate Division four-judge panel has affirmed a ruling by New York County Surrogate Nora Anderson that Ronald D. Myers’ home-made will should be construed to leave his stock portfolio, apart from some IBM stock, to his mother rather than to his same-sex life partner. Ephraim v. O’Connor, 2015 WL 4002277 (N.Y. App. Div., 1st Dep’t, July 2, 2015). The ruling turned on the ambiguities of a document drafted without the … <Read More>
N.Y. Appellate Panel Finds Discharge is Disproportionate Penalty for Teachers Accused of Having Lesbian Sex in a Classroom
In a pair of decisions issued on March 24, the New York Appellate Division, First Department, found that the New York City Education Department should not have discharged two female teachers who were alleged to have been engaging in sexual activity in a darkened, otherwise empty classroom one evening while a musical program was taking place elsewhere in the building. However, the court found that the teachers had engaged in conduct that merited punishment, and … <Read More>