The law firm of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP is proud to announce that twenty-five of the firm’s attorneys have been named to 2025’s New York Super Lawyers, Upstate Edition. No more than five percent of the lawyers in a state are selected to Super Lawyers.
Four attorneys from Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria were ranked in the Top 50 among all attorneys named to 2025’s New York Super Lawyers, Upstate Edition. In addition, nine attorneys from Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria were named to New York Super Lawyers, Upstate Edition’s Rising Stars list.
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Lipsitz Green Named “Best Attorney and Law Office” in The Buffalo News’ Best of 716
Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria is proud to announce that the firm as been named the winner of “Best Attorney and Law Office” in the 2025 edition of The Buffalo News’ Best of 716.
Best of 716 is an annual recognition The Buffalo News awards to “celebrate the best our community has to offer.”
This year, over 400,000 members of the Western New York community cast their votes to select the winners of Best of 716. Winners are deemed “the best of the best” in their field.
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Lawsuit Puts Spotlight on Pattern of Lax Response Times for 911 Calls Involving Domestic Violence
In a front-page story, The Buffalo News recently reported on a lawsuit, which was filed by attorney Melissa Wischerath, on behalf of the family of a victim of domestic violence.
The victim in this matter texted 911, for police protection during a domestic violence incident. Police entered the victim’s Buffalo apartment four days after she contacted 911, where they found her dead from the domestic violence assault.
A lawsuit was filed against the City of Buffalo, Erie County, and Erie County Central Police Service. The defendants in the lawsuit are accused of wrongful death, civil rights violations, and negligence.
Victim’s Exchange with 911 and Police Response Time
The victim sent a series of text messages to 911 in the early morning of August 3, 2023. The texts pleaded for police to respond during a domestic violence incident. At 5:16 AM, 30 minutes after the victim’s first message to 911, a 911 call-taker responded that the police were at the victim’s apartment. However, the police did not actually arrive to the victim’s apartment building until 6:00 AM. The lawsuit alleges that when the police arrived, they did not enter the apartment building or knock on the victim’s apartment door.
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Tax Implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
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On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1 into law. The legislation, often referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), will have a significant impact on businesses and business owners through tax relief, expanded deductions, government subsidies, and other measures.
Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria has prepared the following, which highlights select provisions in the OBBBA that are particularly vital for businesses to note. We encourage you to discuss the OBBBA’s impact on your business with your legal and financial advisors as needed.
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Jury Trial Victory in $5 Million Employment Dispute
Attorneys Jonathan W. Brown and Anthony R. Faraco, Jr. recently won a jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of their client – a news, publishing, and media company.
The trial involved employment law claims brought by a former employee of the news, publishing, and media company. The former employee claimed over $5 million in economic and non-economic damages in this employment dispute.
After a two-week trial, the jury returned in less than an hour with a verdict in favor of Jonathan and Anthony’s client.
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$3.65 Million Result for Injured Construction Worker
Personal injury attorney Melissa Wischerath obtained a $3.65 million settlement on behalf of her client, who was a construction worker injured in an on-the-job accident.
The victim in this accident was a heavy equipment operator who was working on a construction project for the Niagara Falls Water Board.
Melissa Wischerath successfully argued that New York State Labor Laws were violated and established that the Niagara Falls Water Board failed to comply with their duty to provide proper protection to the heavy equipment operator who was injured on their construction project.
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$7 Million Claim Dismissed in Construction Dispute
Attorneys Joe Manna and Chris Poole recently secured the dismissal of a $7 million claim asserted by a publicly traded railway company against a Buffalo contractor.
Construction Project
The Buffalo based contractor, who has been a longstanding client of Joe Manna, was hired for a project that involved the construction of a rail car repair station. Due to a dispute that took place while construction of the repair station was in progress, the railway company terminated its contract with the Buffalo based contractor.
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Personal Injury attorney William P. Moore recently utilized an April 2025 decision from the New York State Court of Appeals to achieve a significant settlement for his client, who was the victim of a dog attack.
Decades of Injustice for Victims of Domestic Animal Attacks
In 2006, the New York State Court of Appeals issued a ruling, which significantly limited a victim’s right to seek justice if they had been harmed by a dog bite or other domestic animal attack.
In the 2006 case of Bard v. Jahnke, the Court of Appeals ruled that the owner of a domestic animal cannot be held liable for negligence when their pet causes harm to others. This ruling set a precedent that was applied for nearly 20 years in New York State, which significantly limited the extent that pet owners can be held accountable for harm that their dog or other domestic animal caused.
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Jury Trial Victory for Video Game Publisher
Jonathan W. Brown and Anthony R. Faraco, Jr. recently obtained a significant jury trial victory in the Northern District of California on behalf of their client, a video game publisher.
The trial involved a business dispute, in which a former business associate made various claims against the video game publisher, including breach of contract, promissory fraud, and wrongful termination claims. The plaintiff in this matter was seeking economic and non-economic damages, an ownership stake in the publisher, and punitive damages. Plaintiff claimed millions of dollars in damages at trial.
The video game publisher sought the counsel of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, once the plaintiff filed suit in this matter.
Click here to learn more about Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria’s Commercial Litigation services and visit the bio pages of Jonathan Brown and Anthony Faraco to learn more about their practice.
Treasury Department Eliminates BOI Reporting Requirements for U.S. Companies & Citizens
What Happened?
- This past Friday evening (March 21, 2025), the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an interim final rule, which removes the requirement for U.S. companies and U.S. persons to report beneficial ownership information (BOI) under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
Court Ruling Reinstates Enforcement of the CTA
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FinCEN has announced that reporting requirements for the Corporate Transparency Act are back in effect.
What Happened:
- As reported in an earlier alert issued by Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, on December 26, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reinstated a nationwide preliminary injunction on the enforcement of the CTA.
- The preliminary injunction was initially ordered by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on December 2. 2024, in a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the CTA, Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Merrit Garland, Attorney General of the United States, et al.
- On January 7, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, issued an order in another lawsuit challenging the CTA, Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of Treasury, et al. The January 7th ruling also ordered a stay on FinCEN’s enforcement of the CTA.
- On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an appeal of the January 7th ruling and asked that the stay on the enforcement of the CTA be lifted during the appeals process.
- On February 18, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted the U.S. Department of Justice’s request and lifted the stay on the enforcement of the CTA.
- This ruling from February 18, 2025 gives FinCEN the authority to enforce the reporting obligations business owners have under the CTA.
Next Real Estate Roundtable January 23rd | How to Address Emotional Support Animal Requests
Our next in-person Real Estate Roundtable will take place on Thursday, January 23rd at 9:00 AM at The Buffalo Club. The event will be held in the Roosevelt Room, which is located on the 2nd floor of The Buffalo Club.
Click “RSVP” below if you would like to attend the January 23rd Real Estate Roundtable, which is free of charge.
At our next Real Estate Roundtable, Jaime Michelle Cain will discuss matters related to Emotional Support Animal requests. Topics that will be reviewed include:
- What HUD Guidance Advises
- How to Process and Respond to Requests
- How to Engage in the Interactive Process with Tenants
- How to Address Multiple Animal Request