U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York
Judge Lewis J. Liman strikes down the Trump administration's rescission of congestion pricing approval in a sweeping ruling — calling it "difficult to imagine more arbitrary and capricious decision-making."
March 3, 2026
Reuters — Full coverageMarch 5, 2026
The Third Department ruled that Executive Law § 296(5)(a)(3) — which makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for landlords to refuse Section 8 voucher holders — is unconstitutional.
The court found that accepting Section 8 funds requires landlords to submit to inspections that lack adequate safeguards regarding timing, scope, and duration — effectively compelling warrantless searches in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Without this law, landlords across New York could legally refuse tenants solely because they pay with housing vouchers. The ruling threatens to undo a key tenant protection relied on by hundreds of thousands of voucher recipients statewide.
Attorney General Letitia James indicated her office would "review all options to prevent housing discrimination against New Yorkers who receive public assistance to afford their homes."
Filed March 17, 2026
Attorney General James sued Attyx (formerly SUNco), its two CEOs, and lending partners Solar Mosaic and WebBank for defrauding thousands of New Yorkers. The defendants falsely promised free or reduced-price home solar systems and roof repairs, claiming government "incentives" would cover costs — then locked consumers into contracts for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Cancellation of all consumer agreements and full restitution for defrauded homeowners.
Low-income residents, seniors on fixed incomes, and homeowners in underserved communities across New York.
Solar Mosaic and WebBank are named as co-defendants for financing the scheme and profiting from predatory loan terms.
Passed March 9, 2026
Generative AI systems must notify users that outputs "may be inaccurate." The bill defines covered systems as "a class of artificial intelligence models that are self-supervised and emulate the structure and characteristics of input data to generate derived synthetic content."
The Senate and Assembly released their one-house counter-proposals to Governor Hochul's executive budget, setting up a multi-front negotiation over approximately $260 billion in spending. Taxes are the central flashpoint.
Additional disputes: energy bill freezes, police cooperation with ICE, auto insurance premiums, climate policy, and housing regulations.
New York Focus — Budget guideA hotel operator that agreed to check on a suicidal guest at family members' request satisfied any assumed duty by performing that check — but did not thereby assume a duty to call for emergency assistance.
The Court drew a line between voluntarily checking on a guest and assuming an ongoing duty of care. Hotels that act on family requests should document precisely what they agreed to do.
NY Daily RecordThe Court reversed a conviction for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle because the trial court failed to read a jury note verbatim — depriving the defendant of meaningful notice about the jury's confusion regarding the definition of "operates" under Vehicle and Traffic Law.
In a contentious split, the Court reversed Family Court orders involving child abuse allegations. The majority found that surveillance videos depicting abuse were improperly authenticated — citing gaps in the chain of custody and the absence of testimony from key witnesses who maintained the camera system.
The dissent argued the majority's authentication standard was impractically high, warning it could undermine child protection cases that rely on video evidence.
NYSBA Law Digest — March 2026Filed March 16, 2026
Attorney General James led a bipartisan coalition of 13 state attorneys general in suing OneMain Financial for trapping borrowers in expensive loans by adding hidden fees and useless add-on products without consumer knowledge or consent.
The complaint alleges OneMain systematically misled customers about product terms and costs, forcing tens of thousands of New Yorkers into refinancing cycles to manage payments they never should have owed.
City Council passes street vendor decriminalization bill
Mayor vetoes the bill
Council overrides veto — Local Law 122 enacted
Law takes effect — Licensed vendors receive civil penalties instead of criminal charges; unlicensed vendors no longer face misdemeanor charges
Advocates note the law is particularly significant for immigrant vendors who face visa complications and deportation risks from even minor criminal records. Council Member Shekar Krishnan called it "transformative."
QNS — CoverageConsent Order — Deadline: March 19, 2026
Licensed health insurers are required to spend at least 82% of premium revenue on medical costs. Jericho Share spent roughly one-eighth of that threshold.
dfs.ny.gov — Press releaseOCM's enforcement sweep continues across the five boroughs. In a recent Queens operation, inspectors seized approximately 2,000 illicit cannabis products from a Flushing storefront after discovering inventory hidden in a concealed compartment. Under expanded FY25 powers, OCM can now immediately padlock businesses upon first inspection if products are sold to minors, untested, or unlabeled.
Separately, Veterans Holdings Inc. has filed suit challenging OCM's implementation of the Metrc seed-to-sale tracking system, arguing it creates unfair economic burdens on licensed operators through expensive ID tag requirements.
cannabis.ny.gov — EnforcementReport released February 2026
Only 9% of people statewide posted bail at arraignment in 2024. Racial disparities in bail-setting persist despite reform. The 2023 bail amendments did not increase bail-setting rates as some had anticipated.
The bill would amend General Business Law to hold chatbot operators accountable when AI systems dispense professional advice — simulating the advice or conduct of licensed professionals. It requires mandatory disclosure notices displayed in the same font size as the largest text on the website. Reached the Senate floor calendar on February 26, 2026.
PPC Land — AnalysisMarch 12, 2026
The First Department affirmed that charges for access to a vendor management system (VMS) platform constitute taxable software licenses — not nontaxable services. The company argued the software was merely incidental to its labor management consulting, but the court found the license was the "core function" of the transactions.
Businesses licensing cloud-based platforms in New York should review whether their SaaS offerings may be classified as taxable software sales under this precedent, particularly when the software component is integral to the value proposition.
DFS deadline — Jericho Share must cancel all active contracts for 13,900 affected New Yorkers
Court of Appeals March session continues — additional opinions expected
Senate floor vote on S.7263 (Chatbot Liability Bill) — on floor calendar since Feb 26
Governor Hochul's decision on GenAI Warning Bill (A.3411/S.934) — signature or veto
New York State fiscal year begins — FY 2027 budget deadline. Negotiations between Governor, Senate, and Assembly ongoing over ~$260B in spending.
AG James solar fraud case — Attyx/Solar Mosaic response deadlines pending. DOT considering appeal of congestion pricing ruling.