Langan v. State Farm Fire & Casualty

Rose, J. (dissenting).

I respectfully dissent as to the majority’s conclusion that the doctrine of comity does not require New York to recognize claimant as decedent’s surviving spouse for purposes of the death benefits afforded by Workers’ Compensation Law § 16 (1-a).

While I certainly agree that the valid Vermont civil union entered into by claimant and decedent does not bind us to confer upon them “all of the incidents which the other jurisdiction attaches to such status” (Matter of Chase, 127 AD2d 415, 417 [1987]), claimant is not seeking such an incident here. He does not ask us to confer…