The Fun Part of Being a NY Business Litigation Attorney

Last week, I received a fax from one of my adversaries that admittedly caught me by surprise: His clients apparently decided to discontinue their breach of professional services contract action against my client. In truth, I’m not sure what prompted this action on their part; and I may never know the answer. When my client [...]

How a NY Contractor Was Bilked Out of Its Fees for “Extra Work”

Sometimes, even seasoned companies ignore the fundamentals, and learn a lesson the hard way. In this case, the lesson was rather straightforward – if you don’t fulfill the explicit requirements for before undertaking additional work under a contract (a condition precedent), you may not get paid. In an opinion that was handed down on December [...]

How NY Courts Can Enforce a Contract – Even When It’s Illegal

A little over one year ago, I wrote about a fascinating case where a defendant sought to avoid its obligation to pay for goods that it received – and profited from – on the grounds that the underlying agreement it had with the plaintiff was based upon an illegal scheme designed to avoid customs duties [...]

Denied Maternity Leave, NY Woman Sues Employer for Breach of Contract

Kudos to you, ABC, for bringing this story to light. And shame on you, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, for your discriminatory narrow-mindedness. Kara Krill who works for Massachusetts-based Cubist Pharmaceuticals, recently had twin children via a surrogate. She was compelled to have these children through a surrogate because she had health issues that prevented her from having [...]

When a New York Court Rejects a “Liquidated Damages” Clause

Truth be told, the heading of this article is taken from a common usage, or vernacular, perspective; from a technical, legal perspective, it is simply wrong. Here’s why: The term “liquidated damages,” at least under New York law, means that a court has determined as a matter of law that the specific amount of monetary [...]

One Way (Albeit Rare) to Recoup Legal Fees in NY: “Frivolous Conduct”

As noted elsewhere (see, e.g., “Why It’s So Hard to Recover Legal Fees in a NY Breach of Contract Case“) , the general rule in New York is that you cannot recover the costs you’ve incurred to defend a lawsuit that has been brought against you. Of course, there are some exceptions to that rule,  [...]

When You Aren’t Paid for the Work You’ve Done in New York

It should come as no surprise that this has increasingly become one of the most common – if not the most common – form of breach of contract as the economy has continued to falter. Some customers have professed their desire to pay your bills, but “they just don’t have the money right now.” More [...]

CBS Sues Writer, Claiming He Breached Contract By Re-Selling Series

Sometimes the details of a breach of contract claim are so juicy it is hard to remain objective. And I readily admit, after reading a rendition of the detailed allegations in the lawsuit that CBS brought against one of its writers, Lukas Reiter, it is hard not to believe or side with CBS. In essence, [...]

Why Investigating Jurors’ Social Networks May Be a Bad Idea

This is a whole new world of creepy. In an ethics opinion that was recently handed down, the New York County Lawyers Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics wrote that it is both “proper and ethical” for attorneys to vet prospective jurors by “passively” investigating the jurors’ social networking profiles, i.e., viewing what is publicly available [...]

Is “Civil Litigation” an Oxymoron?

In a breach of contract and non-compete case I was recently hired to defend, I had a very odd first phone conversation with my adversary. And at the end of the call, I told him that I would be following up with a short e-mail memorializing our “pleasant conversation.” His response took me by surprise: [...]