Justice Genovesi gives Bay Ridge Lawyers an update on municipal law

April 1, 2016 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Grace Borrino (right), president of the Bay Ridge Lawyers Association (BRLA), welcomed Justice Lara J. Genovesi (left) for a CLE lecture on municipal law during the BRLA’s monthly meeting Wednesday night. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese

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The Bay Ridge Lawyers Association (BRLA) hosted Justice Lara J. Genovesi for a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lecture on Municipal Law during its monthly meeting at Hunter’s Steak and Ale House in Bay Ridge on Wednesday night.

“It was an update on the second department case law,” Genovesi said. “It’s a very big subject, municipal case law, so this wasn’t meant to be an overview or this-is-how-you-litigate. Instead, it covered different cases that came before the second department within the last year [and] how they were interpreted.”

Municipal law, known as the city part within the Brooklyn court system, covers cases where the city is a litigant, plaintiff or defendant.

“There is not an assumption that you can just sue the city if you want to sue the city — there are a lot of preconditions. So I talked about what those preconditions are,” Genovesi explained. “Who can sue the city, under what subjects or incidents you can sue the city for and what the requirements are if you are going to sue.”

Genovesi explained that it is very important for attorneys to realize that when they’re involved in a case that also involves New York City, filing a notice of claim within 90 days is paramount.

“It’s very clear that you have to file a notice of claim within 90 days of the incident,” she said. “You have to file a notice of claim before you can file the lawsuit. There are plenty of examples of when an attorney does not file a timely claim because, say, their client doesn’t come to them in a timely manner. So there are examples when the court can grant leave to file a late notice of claim.”

Grace Borrino, the president of the BRLA, had nothing but great things to say about Genovesi when introducing her on Wednesday night. She explained that she knew from Genovesi’s days as a court attorney for Hon. Jeffrey Sunshine that she had a brilliant legal mind.

“She was just an amazing court attorney,” Borrino said. “Her knowledge of the law, her ability to resolve cases before they went to trial, it was superb. When she joined the court as a judge, I knew that she would be a major asset and I knew that I would want her to come speak to the BRLA.

“Suing the city of New York, I personally have nothing to do with that, but clearly people are interested in this because it went over really well and we had a great turnout,” Borrino joked afterward.

The BRLA will meet again on April 27 with Justice Matthew D’Emic giving a lecture. The group’s annual dinner dance will be held at Battery Gardens in Manhattan on June 23.