In NY Business & Consumer Fraud Case, Court Refuses to Pierce the Corporate Veil

In a strongly worded — and educational — opinion, a New York Federal Judge went out of his way to delineate what allegations suffice, and in White v. National Home Protection, Inc., what did not suffice, to survive dismissal on a claim seeking to pierce the corporate veil.
In granting the defendants’ motions to dismiss [...]

Why Many Implied Warranty Claims Fail Under New York Law

By way of background, implied warranties are primarily applied in two contexts in New York: (1) in the breach of contract for goods context;  and, (2) where a product was not safe for its intended use, i.e.,  in the defective consumer products context (for more on the latter category, please see “How to Prove a [...]

Unethical Companies, Frivolous Defenses to Breach of a NY Contract, and the “American Way”

Recently, I spoke with a gentleman who runs a small, but profitable, family-owned business that did a significant amount of custom work for a vendor, only to have that vendor – which is a much larger company – turn around and tell this man directly: “we’re not paying you, and if you don’t like it, [...]

NY Court Sustains $150 Million Jury Verdict in Defamation & Tortious Interference Case

The facts of this case are rather disturbing. Worse yet, I seriously doubt the plaintiff will be able to collect on this judgment, even though he certainly deserves to recoup something.
In Cantu v. Flanigan, the plaintiff was a Mexican businessman who, over several decades in the oil and other industries, had built a worldwide reputation [...]

How to Prove a Punitive Damages Claim Under New York Law

A long time ago I learned that if you ever want a great summary of the current law on a particular issue in New York, get a recent Federal Court decision on the topic. It will be well-written, accurate and concise.
Raedle v. Credit Agricole Indosuez, a decision out of the Federal Court for the Southern [...]

Why One Queens Building Owner Deserved To Lose His Breach of Contract & Indemnity Claim

Sometimes when reading a court’s decision, there are facts from the case that almost jump off the page and make you wonder: if what the court is saying is true, why on earth did they even bother filing the lawsuit to begin with? Why not just accept that you messed up and move on?
In Bailey [...]

How to Prove the Two Types of Tortious Interference Claims Under New York Law

In the last few years, I’ve been asked this question quite a bit; unfortunately, at least in my experience, there seems to be a great deal of misunderstanding about what is – and what isn’t – tortious interference. So, I figured, why not publish a brief article that clarifies the parameters of this legal doctrine [...]

Another Reason Why Many Business Fraud Claims Fail Under New York Law

Following up on my earlier post, “Why Many (If Not Most) Business Fraud Claims Are Dismissed By New York’s Courts,” an April 9 decision from a New York County trial judge that is scheduled to appear in tomorrow’s New York Law Journal sets forth a very important – and common – reason that so many [...]

When Your New York Contract Is Unclear

Somewhat surprisingly, in the majority of breach of contract cases I get called about, the contract does not clearly address – and sometimes does not even discuss at all – the issue that led to the claim or how it is supposed to be handled.
The next question, therefore, follows logically: how do New York’s courts [...]

How to Craft Liquidated Damages Clauses That Are Enforceable in NY

In many long-term contracts, such as in the services industry, it has become rather commonplace for the service provider to insert a liquidated damages clause, which essentially sets forth the specific damages they will be entitled to if the recipient terminates the contract prematurely.
As I’m sure you know, not all liquidated damages clauses are enforceable [...]