Second Amendment Legal Update: October, 2021

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.

Schuyler SCOPE, County Attorney give out over 100 free gun locks in Montour Falls

The Schuyler County Chapter of the Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE) in conjunction with the Office of Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman, gave away over 100 free cable-style gun locks to Schuyler County families at the Montour Falls Harvest Fest on Saturday (October 2).

According to Getman, the giveaway helps ensure that gun owners are in compliance with New York's strict firearms storage laws, which require them to lock up their firearms while living in a home with someone under the age of 16.

The locks can also be obtained from the county attorney's office by calling 607-535-8121 during normal business hours and scheduling a pickup time. One lock will be available per household and will be provided on a "first-come, first-serve" basis. Supplies are limited.

"We encourage county residents to pick up a free lock so that they can securely store their firearm," said Getman. "The locks fit on most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns. The cable is threaded through the weapon and blocks the barrel or the use of ammunition. It's secured by a padlock and key. The goal is to prevent a young child or another unauthorized person from accessing a firearm in the home."

SCOPE is a non-partisan statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to educating the public about firearm ownership, second amendment rights and legislation. The Schuyler County chapter's meetings are held on the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. in January, March, May, October at the Montour Falls Moose Lodge, 2096 St. Rt. 14, Montour Falls, NY 14865.

The Schuyler County Attorney is the legal advisor to the county legislature, county administrator and other county officials. In addition, the county attorney prosecutes family court cases of child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency and other civil matters on behalf of county officials.

HERO Act: COVID-19 safety measures for private sector employers.

Earlier this year, the HERO Act passed in New York State. This law requires all private sector employers to adopt safety standards and workplace procedures that protect workers from COVID-19 or other airborne infectious diseases.

In furtherance of the law, the New York State Department of Labor and Department of Health have developed a new Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Standard, a Model Airborne Infectious Disease Exposure Prevention Plan, and various industry-specific model plans for the prevention of airborne infectious disease.

These plans must go into effect when an airborne infectious disease is designated by the New York State Commissioner of Health as a highly contagious communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to the public health.

Employers can choose to adopt the applicable policy template/plan provided by NYS DOL or establish an alternative plan that meets or exceeds the standard’s minimum requirements.

Currently, while private employers must adopt plans as required by the law, as of the date of this writing no designation has been made and plans are not required to be in effect.

Public sector employers are currently exempt from the new state law.

For more information, click here.

Schuyler County to receive up to $121,000 from opioid lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson

Schuyler County will receive up to  $121,000.00  from Johnson & Johnson, the parent company of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to treat, reduce and prevent opioid use through a court settlement with the opioid maker.

 

Meeting in special session on Wednesday (September 8), the County Legislature voted unanimously to accept the settlement and authorized Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman to execute the necessary legal documents on the county’s behalf.

 

According to Getman, the funds can be used for a variety of restricted and unrestricted purposes.

 

“Possible uses include supporting  law  enforcement  and  first  responders, treating opioid  addiction,  funding social services and similar efforts,” Getman explained.

 

The drug maker also agreed to permanently end the manufacture and distribution of opioids across the nation, Getman said.

 

The funding is part of a $260 million settlement that Johnson & Johnson reached in New York State to finalize lawsuits brought by Schuyler County, the State of New York and others, pertaining to the company’s alleged role in the increase of use and abuse of opioids.

 

In 2018, Getman, working with law firm Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC as special counsel, filed a lawsuit against approximately thirty defendants, including some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry.  Along with Johnson and Johnson/Janssen, the defendants included: Purdue Pharma L.P.; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.; Cephalon, Inc.; Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Actavis Pharma, Inc. and Insys Therapeutics, Inc. 

 

The lawsuit alleged the defendants knew–and had known for years–that opioids were addictive and subject to abuse, particularly when used long-term for chronic non-cancer pain, and should not be used except as a last-resort. However, the lawsuit stated, the defendants spent hundreds of millions of dollars disseminating scientific materials and advertising that misrepresented the risks of opioids’ long-term use.

 

Schuyler County was one of many local governments that filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid pain killers. At least 14 counties across New York sued the pharmaceutical companies for what the counties claimed were deceptive marketing practices.

 

After the counties filed suit, in March 2019, the New York State Attorney General’s office filed its own lawsuit on behalf of the state.   In June, Attorney General Letitia James announced the tentative deal with Johnson and Johnson, calling the largest monetary settlement ever secured by her office.

 

Schuyler County’s lawsuit against other defendants remains pending, Getman said, with the possibility of more settlements and additional funding to the county still to come. 

 

 “Over the past few years, despite its small population, Schuyler County has seen an uptick in opioid and heroin use and overdose,” Getman said. “To date, County officials have expended public resources to help its residents battle opioid addiction and prevent further deaths. This settlement is just one step to reimburse the County for its expenses related to the opioid crisis as well as provide the County with financial assistance to continue this battle.”

 

Johnson and Johnson has stated the settlement was not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by them and the company “remains committed to providing certainty for involved parties and critical assistance for communities in need.”

 

The lawsuits by Schuyler County and others are part of a tide of litigation over an epidemic linked to nearly 500,000 deaths over the last twenty years. The cases have drawn comparisons to the multistate litigation against tobacco companies in the 1990s.  Those lawsuits were resolved as part of the landmark $206 billion Master Settlement Agreement announced in November 1998 between the tobacco industry and the states’ attorney generals.

 

A complete copy of Schuyler County’s lawsuit can be found here. 

 

A copy of the county’s resolution approving the settlement can be found here.

 

Second Amendment Legal Update: September, 2021

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State. For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.

Law Day 2022 Theme Announced

The American Bar Association has announced the theme for Law Day 2022, "Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change.”

The Constitution is a dynamic document, as it not only outlines a blueprint for government, but also delegates power, articulates rights, and offers mechanisms for change. It is neither perfect, nor exhaustive, as our nation’s history makes clear. Legislation, court rulings, amendments, lawyers, and “we the people” have built upon those original words across generations to attempt to make the “more perfect Union” more real. That effort continues today, as contemporary leaders and everyday citizens raise their voices as loud as ever to fulfill the promise of the Constitution. Defining and refining those words of the Constitution might be our oldest national tradition, and how each of us works—together—toward a more perfect Union.

For more information, click here.

New York State Releases Caseload Standards for Family Court Public Defense lawyers

The New York State Officie of Indigent Legal Services (OILS) has released Caseload Standards for Parents’ Attorneys in New York State Family Court Mandated

Representation Cases. The standards are intended to cover public defenders, assigned counsel and other attorneys assigned to provide mandated representation for people who cannot afford their own lawyer in various types of family court cases.

The standards include both maximum annual case assignment limits and a minimum average number of hours attorneys should spend on each case.

Cases are broken down into thirteen case categories:

• paternity;
• willful violation of support;
• willful violation other;
• family offense;
• guardianship;
• violation of conditional surrender;
• adoption;
• modification of prior order;
• custody/visitation;
• conditional surrender;
• neglect;
• abuse; and
• TPRs (termination of parental rights).

Approval of the standards is contingent upon the availability of State funding to implement the standards. The full report can be found here.

Second Amendment Legal Update: August, 2021

A monthly update, prepared for the Schuyler County Chapter of S.C.O.P.E. NY, a statewide 501(c)4 organization dedicated to preserving the 2nd Amendment rights for the residents of New York State.

For a complete PDF copy of this month's update, click here.

New law protects New Yorkers from “spam” text messages.

New York state officials have enacted new legislation, expanding New York State’s definition of telemarketing to include text messages.

New Yorkers have protection against unwanted robocalls under state law, but texting was not previously defined as telemarketing, exempting it from those protections. This legislation closes that loophole.

State law originally protected New Yorkers against unwanted robocalls, but text messages were not included under those protections. That stipulation has changed. Now, the definition of “telemarketing” as it pertains to state law also encompasses text messages.

Many New Yorkers saw a rise in unwanted calls and text messages from telemarketers during the pandemic.

A complete copy of the new law can be found here.

Leasing your land for solar power? Know your rights before you sign.

Solar power can offer New Yorkers many potential benefits, including saving money through reduced electricity bills, creating stability during periods of electric rate changes and contributing to a cleaner and healthier community by reducing our carbon footprint. With more and more state residents considering solar power, a number of private companies are looking to develop and initiate construction of new solar projects across the state, including in Schuyler County.

Recently, a number of Schuyler County landowners have reported receiving proposals from one or more energy firms, seeking land for solar facility development. These proposals offer landowners money for an option to lease or purchase land to develop, build and operate a solar power generation and storage facility on the premises. Payments may include an option signing bonus, annual option payments and potential annual lease payments. In some cases, payments may net landowners thousands of dollars.

While the terms of these options may seem very attractive, these agreements are legal documents with potential long-term implications, potentially both positive and negative. Therefore, you should proceed carefully before signing them.

For more information, click here.

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