Digital Commons Network^™

A Fear Of Ideas? Social Media, Foreign Influence, And National Security In A New Era Of Great-Power Competition, Michael Park

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

The recent spate of legal restrictions on the use of TikTok and other foreign-controlled social media applications highlight concerns over personal data collection, but also how fears over the potential foreign influence of ideas from adversarial foreign governments—whether by propaganda, censorship, or disinformation—have re-emerged in the national security debate. Yet there are concerns that this new era of great power competition will be the basis for justifying overreaching speech regulations that hinder access to information and ideas under the aegis of national security. This work attempts to examine the recent enactment of speech restrictions or bans on foreign-controlled applications within …

The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement's Human Rights Promise—Fulfilled Or Unfulfilled?, Martin O'Brien & Maggie Beirne

Fordham International Law Journal

The recent twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday (or Belfast) Agreement provided several opportunities for people in Northern Ireland to come together to reflect and comment on the successes and failures of the 1998 peace agreement. Fordham, by publishing this new collection of articles, further allows an important opportunity to share reflections on the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, its implementation, and the current state of the peace in Northern Ireland. This Essay will provide a high-level assessment of the extent to which transition of human rights from the margins to the mainstream (as discussed in the 1999 Mageean and O’Brien article) …

Our Humanity At Stake: The Human Costs Of Economic Sanctions For The Sanctioner, Alexandra Hofer

Fordham International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Super-Dicta, Courtney M. Cox

Faculty Scholarship

A weird thing happens when a conscientious, rational judge lacks certainty and has the humility to know it: she will often decide cases for reasons that differ from the reasons in her opinions. To illustrate, suppose she thinks it’s 50/50 whether Defendant’s copying infringed or was fair use. She could rationally flip a coin. But if she does, and she finds for Defendant, it will not be because of fair use. Rather, it will be because she thought it was 50/50 whether the copying was fair use—and the coin landed tails.

Coin-flip cases are rare, but uncertainty is not. There …

Moore Questions, Some Answers: Fixing The Personal Tax System Despite Constitutional Constraints, David Gamage, John R. Brooks, Edward J. Mccaffery

Faculty Scholarship

Moore v United States was expected to rule on the constitutional necessity of the tax-law realization requirement originating from Eisner v Macomber, a potential impediment to progressive tax reform efforts aimed at shutting down the planning techniques of Buy Borrow Die. The various opinions in Moore, however, provided no definitive answer to this core question, instead leaving many more questions. Amid the lingering uncertainty, we argue that various responses to the problem of wealthy Americans’ not needing to pay any taxes remain possible after Moore. An incremental, “mix-and-match” approach to progressive tax reform may best suit the …

Novel Sex Work Anti-Discrimination Protections, Chi Adanna Mgbako, Christine Eldabh, Katie Falk, Emma Pennie

Faculty Scholarship

Sex workers throughout the world experience ubiquitous and acute discrimination in every facet of their lives due to deeprooted stigma. Societal fear and hatred of sex workers often lead to their exclusion from healthcare services, financial institutions, and accessible housing, as well as their marginalization by the carceral state, family law systems, media, and politicians. Between 2022 and 2024, the Australian jurisdictions of the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Victoria passed groundbreaking legislation codifying novel anti-discrimination protections for sex workers. These laws are the first in the world to explicitly protect sex workers against discrimination in accommodation, employment, government services, and …

Abolitionism, Artificial Intelligence, And Non-Reformist Reform, Youngjae Lee

Faculty Scholarship

Prison abolitionism has gained significant prominence in criminal law scholarship, while artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force across society. Two schools of thought have arisen regarding their intersection. Some scholars contend abolitionists should welcome AI technologies to reduce the carceral state’s reach. Critics view these tools skeptically, arguing that they lead to biased surveillance and incarceration practices. Using this debate as an example, this article seeks to illuminate the distinction between reformist and non-reformist reforms. The article argues that abolitionists’ criticism of reformists as agents of oppression risks alienating potential allies and discouraging progressive interventions in pivotal, …

Nil Education At Universities As Student Athletes Face The Wild West, Ainsworth A. Bailey, Geoffrey Christopher Rapp, Shawn Tysiak

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unstructured Nil Settlements, Tan T. Boston

Fordham Law Review

On October 7, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted preliminary approval to the largest, most transformative antitrust settlement in intercollegiate athletics history. Popularly known as the House Settlement (the “Settlement”), its terms remove National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scholarship limits and provide $2.8 billion in retroactive name, image, and likeness (NIL) compensation to both current and former NCAA athletes. But more importantly, the Settlement allows schools to disburse up to $20 million annually to athletes as part of a historic, new revenue-sharing model—effectively abolishing NCAA amateurism. Analysts estimate that intercollegiate men’s basketball and football …

Of Labor, Antitrust, And Why The Proposed House Settlement Will Not Solve The Ncaa’S Problem, Marc Edelman, Michael A. Carrier

Fordham Law Review

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently settled three antitrust lawsuits. With a significant payout, it hopes to put its antitrust worries behind it. In doing so, the NCAA seeks to follow in the footsteps of the National Football League (NFL), which has enjoyed thirty years of labor peace. But there is a big difference between these two situations. The NFL’s 1993 settlement in White v. National Football League was shielded from antitrust scrutiny by the nonstatutory labor exemption, which encourages collective bargaining activity. No such exemption protects the NCAA’s settlement. This Essay explains why the NCAA cannot establish a …

Decision In Art. 78 Proceeding - Letizia, Salvatore (2024-12-23)

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Matter Of Syllman V. New York State Div. Of Hous. & Community Renewal

All Decisions

In this Article 78 proceeding, the tenant challenged a rent increase granted for a major capital improvement involving roof and facade repairs. The DHCR's determination was upheld as rational and not arbitrary or capricious. The court reaffirmed that administrative decisions must stand unless lacking sound reasoning or factual support. Judgment dismissed the tenant's petition, validating the rent increase for the landlord.

Kong Min Wong V. Carvajal

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding for lease expiration, the tenant moved to dismiss based on the landlord's failure to timely file the affidavit of service and improper service of the petition and notice of petition. The court initially denied the motion, finding the landlord's late filing of the affidavit of service was not prejudicial and that the landlord could not have served the documents timely due to court delays. On reargument, the court granted the tenant's motion to dismiss, finding that the landlord failed to serve the petition and notice of petition within the statutory time frame required by RPAPL §733(1), …

Bogom-Shanon V. Altman

All Decisions

In this Small Claims Court case, the tenant, a former resident of the landlord's property, brought a claim against the landlord. The landlord moved to dismiss for lack of personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The court denied the motion. While the statute initially appeared to limit jurisdiction to current tenants, the court considered the legislative history and found that the statute was intended to include former tenants in landlord-tenant disputes. The court emphasized the importance of legislative intent and the need to avoid an absurd result in interpreting the statute.

Shamie, Llc V. Rush

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss the petition because the landlord used a modified version of the mandatory Notice of Petition form. The court granted the motion, finding that the landlord's modifications to the form, including changes to language regarding the potential loss of the tenant's home and the right to counsel, were improper and could confuse unrepresented tenants. The court dismissed the proceeding without prejudice, allowing the landlord to refile using the correct form.

Pushyk V. Shiyanoff

All Decisions

In this no-grounds holdover proceeding, the landlord sought to evict the tenant. The tenant asserted that the apartment was subject to rent stabilization because the building had been previously altered to contain six apartments. The court agreed with the tenant. The court found that even though the landlord claimed one of the units had been removed, evidence suggested it had previously been rented as a residential unit, triggering rent stabilization for the entire building.

Matter Of 160 E. 84th St. Assoc. Llc V. New York State Div. Of Hous. & Community Renewal

All Decisions

In this case, the landlord challenged DHCR's interpretation of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act (HSTPA), which repealed luxury deregulation. The landlord argued that apartments with pending deregulation orders prior to the HSTPA's enactment should still be deregulated upon lease expiration. The Court of Appeals affirmed DHCR's interpretation, holding that the HSTPA effectively repealed luxury deregulation for apartments whose leases expired after the statute's effective date. (Such apartments are still subject to rent stabilization.) The court emphasized the legislative intent behind the HSTPA and rejected the landlord's arguments regarding undue delay in DHCR's processing of deregulation applications.

Sans Souci Apartments, Inc. V. Koltowich

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding based on nuisance, the tenant moved for discovery regarding the landlord's allegations of 17 incidents of objectionable conduct. The court granted the motion, finding that the tenant demonstrated "ample need" for the information to adequately defend herself. The court emphasized the importance of discovery in nuisance cases to ensure a fair trial and allowed the tenant to obtain information such as the identities of witnesses and the basis for the landlord's knowledge of the alleged incidents.

Briar Hill Realty Llc V. Reisner

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the landlord obtained a default judgment against the tenant. The tenant moved to vacate the default judgment, arguing that the landlord's agent misled him into believing he did not need to respond to the court proceedings. The court granted the tenant's motion, finding that the landlord's agent's actions constituted extrinsic fraud, which warranted vacating the judgment even without a showing of a meritorious defense. The court emphasized the importance of preserving the integrity of the legal process and preventing situations where parties are misled into believing they do not need to defend themselves in court.

Matter Of Mccabe V. 511 W. 232nd Owners Corp.

All Decisions

This case involved a co-op resident (tenant) who sought to inherit her deceased partner's co-op unit. The co-op board denied the transfer, arguing that the tenant was not the deceased's spouse and therefore not eligible for automatic transfer under the lease. The tenant argued that the board's denial constituted discrimination based on marital status under the NYCHRL. The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts' decisions, holding that the NYCHRL's prohibition on marital status discrimination does not extend to unmarried partners. The court emphasized the plain meaning of "marital status" and the lack of legislative intent to extend protection to …

Hakim V. Ahmed

All Decisions

In this no-grounds holdover proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss the petition on grounds of improper service and the omission of a necessary party. The court denied the motion. Regarding service, the court held that while the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act (CEEFPA) had temporarily heightened service requirements, those requirements no longer applied. The court found that the landlord's service of process complied with RPAPL § 735, which governs service in summary eviction proceedings. The court also found that the tenant's arguments regarding the omission of a necessary party were insufficient to warrant dismissal at this stage.

170 Ny Props. Llc V Edwards

All Decisions

The landlord commenced a nonpayment proceeding against the rent-stabilized tenant. The tenant asserted a defense under MDL 302-a, claiming that rent-impairing violations entitled them to a 100% rent abatement. The court found that the tenant failed to prove that the notices of violation were properly served to the landlord and dismissed the defense.

A Guide To Parole Preparation In New York State, Parole Preparation Project, Michelle L. Lewin

All Categories

No abstract provided.

Distorted Narratives In The Treatment Program Complex, Evelyn Lia Malavé

Fordham Law Review

Problem-solving courts and alternatives to incarceration have been both celebrated as successful attempts to address the factors that lead to defendants’ involvement in the criminal legal system and critiqued as ineffective reforms that worsen mass incarceration. Specifically, critiques of the “treatment program complex” have tended to focus on how it harms defendants by exposing them to higher levels of incarceration if they fail to complete court mandates. But these critiques have failed to account for another way the treatment program complex harms defendants: by suppressing their voices regarding what kind of help they need and how they are affected by …

Plausibly Illiberal: Sua Sponte Dismissals Of Pro Se Complaints Under The Prison Litigation Reform Act, Pierce Edlich

Fordham Law Review

Over a quarter of civil litigants file suit in federal court without an attorney. Most unrepresented litigants are in prison, and many of their cases raise complex, delicate constitutional questions. The number of unrepresented litigants in federal courts rose steadily until the 1990s, when Congress passed the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) of 1995 to limit the burden of frivolous inmate litigation on federal courts. Since 1996, the PLRA has defined courts’ procedural obligations for inmate and in forma pauperis (IFP) suits, often filed pro se. The PLRA requires that courts screen and dismiss sua sponte cases that are frivolous, …

Lost At The South China Sea: A Legal Rationale For Joining Unclos, Dean Feinman

Fordham Law Review

Rising tensions in the South China Sea are a tired front of great power competition. Since President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia,” there has been renewed attention on growing Chinese naval power and influence, which stands to challenge the U.S. status as the world’s preeminent naval force. Despite a clear and obvious interest in maintaining a favorable global oceans regime, the United States has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the principal international instrument governing the use of the oceans. Instead, the United States argues that ratification is unnecessary because UNCLOS “embodies” customary …

Will Bruen Kill Cops?, Peter N. Salib, Guha Krishnamurthi

Fordham Law Review Online

Criminal procedure is a balancing act. On one hand, it must allow law enforcement officers to protect the public and themselves. On the other hand, criminal procedure must safeguard citizens’ individual constitutional rights—privacy, physical liberty, and bodily integrity. And now, the right to bear arms.

There is a serious tension here. Landmark Fourth Amendment cases like Terry v. Ohio, Pennsylvania v. Mimms, and Chimel v. California give the police wide latitude to seize firearms on the assumption that guns are dangerous. But these doctrines largely evolved before the Second Amendment’s ascendance. In District of Columbia v. Heller, …

322 W. 47th St. Hdfc V. Loo

All Decisions

The court denied defendant tenant's motion for summary judgment, rejecting his claim of collateral estoppel regarding the validity of his proprietary lease. The court found that the issue was not conclusively determined in a prior derivative action involving the HDFC board members, and thus tenant's lease validity could still be contested. Additionally, Guarino's request for attorney's fees under RPL § 234 was denied as he was not the prevailing party.

Doc Realty Management Inc. V. Morales

All Decisions

The landlord sought to vacate dismissal of a holdover proceeding and amend its petition, asserting misapplication of the Good Cause Eviction Law. The court clarified that the GCEL's immediate effect applied to the commencement of proceedings and denied the motion, citing the petition's failure to comply with RPAPL §741. The court rejected arguments concerning predicate notices and retroactivity, emphasizing that the dismissal arose from procedural defects, not GCEL compliance. The landlord was directed to pursue a new proceeding or other remedies.

1616 President St. Assoc., Llc V Brathwaite

All Decisions

The landlord sought arrears for a rent-stabilized unit, but the tenant successfully asserted a rent-impairing violation defense under MDL § 302-a. The court found the landlord barred from collecting rent for June 2020–May 2022 due to an uncorrected HPD violation, granting a 100% rent abatement and dismissing the petition. The tenant was awarded the deposited funds, and counterclaims remain for further proceedings.