New York real estate developers and advocates for affordable housing are locked in political combat right now over the fate of a popular tax abatement program. Known as the 421-A Program, this tax benefit applies to most newly constructed housing built within New York City. The program dates back to

On March 30, a state supreme court justice in Buffalo dismissed a complaint brought by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman against HSBC, the United Kingdom-based international banking conglomerate, whom the attorney general accused of “failing to follow state law related to foreclosure actions, putting homeowners at greater risk of losing

If you are hit by a car and suffer serious injuries, it logically follows you may wish to sue the driver of the vehicle. But what other parties may be responsible? The Appellate Division, Third Department, recently considered such a case. A pedestrian struck by a car argued a second

Nisar & Mason, P.C. is proud to announce that Attorney Mahir S. Nisar has been selected for inclusion on the 2015 list of the Nation’s Top One Percent, published by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel (NADC). The NADC seeks to objectively recognize lawyers who raise the standards of the Bar,

Improper road maintenance by municipal authorities often lead to otherwise preventable motor vehicle accidents. And not all maintenance issues involve the roads themselves. As one recent tragic case demonstrates, an improperly maintained road sign can be just as dangerous to drivers and pedestrians as a pothole. Honer v. McComb In

“Force majeure” is an important concept in contract law. Literally translated, it means “superior force,” and it refers to circumstances where a party cannot meet its obligation under a contract because of some external event beyond the party’s control. Force majeure generally includes “acts of God”—e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding—but can

The New York Times recently published a major five-part series detailing the “stream of foreign wealth” that has entered Manhattan’s high-end real estate market in recent years. The Times focused on how many foreign (and U.S.) individuals “have taken steps to keep their identities hidden, registering condos in trusts, limited liability companies

Car accidents often involve a multitude of factors. Eyewitness testimony alone can be insufficient to accurately reconstruct the underlying events. In many cases, expert witnesses are employed by both sides in a personal injury lawsuit to present the jury with possible reconstructions based on time-tested scientific methods. But, introducing expert

Piecing together the events of an automobile accident can be difficult. Especially in “hit and run” cases where the other driver speeds away, a victim may have insufficient or incomplete information to act upon. How can this affect the victim’s legal rights to seek compensation for his or her injuries?

Many New York workers injured on the job, or in the course of their employment, are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation refers to a state-mandated insurance program requiring certain employers to provide or purchase, and which provides benefits to injured employees. The basic idea behind workers’ compensation