Business Law

By:  Jeffrey M. Haber In Valkyrie AI LLC v. PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP , 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 06141 (1st Dept. Dec. 5, 2024) ( here ), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed an order involving claims for unfair competition, tortious interference with contract and tortious interference with prospective business relations. As discussed below, the Court found that plaintiff stated a claim for unfair competition and tortious interference with contract against PwC but fa

By: Jeffrey M. Haber In Farage v. Associated Ins. Mgt. Corp. , 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 05875 (Nov. 26, 2024) ( here ), the New York Court of Appeals examined the enforceability of an insurance contract’s two-year suit limitation period. In a 4-3 decision, written by Judge Madeline Singas, the Court held that the contract provision in the parties’ insurance agreement shortening the statute of limitations barred plaintiff from receiving payment for the restoration of her property t

Freiberger Haber LLP is pleased to announce that co-founding partners, Jonathan H. Freiberger and Jeffrey M. Haber, have been named by Super Lawyers Magazine® to be among the top lawyers in the New York metropolitan area. This is Mr. Freiberger’s fifth, and Mr. Haber’s thirteenth, consecutive year of selection. Both Messrs. Freiberger and Haber were recognized for their work in business litigation . Super Lawyers Magazine® is an affiliate of Thomson Reuters. It recognizes att

By: Jeffrey M. Haber In today’s post, we examine Student Loan Solutions, LLC v. Colon , 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 05125 (2d Dept. Oct. 16, 2024) ( here ), a case involving the collection of student loan debt and the statute of limitations applicable to such collection efforts when the plaintiff is a nonresident suing on a cause of action accruing outside New York. As noted, Student Loan Solutions involved the collection of student loan debt. In 2007, defendants entered into a priva

By: Jonathan H. Freiberger Partition is “the act or proceeding by which co-owners of property cause it to be divided into as many shares as there are owners, according to their interests therein, or if that cannot be equitably done, to be sold for the best obtainable price and the proceeds distributed according to the respective interests.” Chiang v. Chang , 137 A.D.2d 371, 373 (1 st Dep’t 1988) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Partition actions are governed

By: Jonathan H. Freiberger This BLOG has frequently addressed issues related to a party’s standing, in many different contexts, to commence litigation. In prior BLOG articles we have explained that in order to prosecute a lawsuit, the plaintiff must have standing to do so. Thus, we have noted that“ tanding involves a determination of whether the party seeking relief has a sufficiently cognizable stake in the outcome so as to cast the dispute in a form traditionally capable o

By: Jeffrey M. Haber As readers of this Blog know, New York has a “long and strong public policy favoring arbitration … as a means of conserving the time and resources of the courts and the contracting parties.” For this reason, “New York courts interfere as little as possible with the freedom of consenting parties to submit disputes to arbitration.” The foregoing principle was at issue in McWhinney-St. Louis v. Cliftonlarsonallen LLP , 2024 N.Y. Slip Op 32747(U) (Sup. Ct.,

By: Jeffrey M. Haber In the world of e-commerce, a person cannot buy something online, subscribe to a service, or join a club or organization without agreeing to the provider’s “terms of service”. These terms are often lengthy and difficult to read. For these reasons, among others, most people simply click the “I agree” button or link without reading the text or thinking about what they agreed to. Many consumer advocates argue that electronic terms of service should not be bi

By Jonathan H. Freiberger The Courts of New York will not aid in the enforcement of a contract when the subject matter is illegal. Cases standing for this seemingly unremarkable proposition are varied. For example, in Bonilla v. Rotter , 36 A.D.3d 534 (1 st Dep’t 2007), the plaintiff was a suspended attorney. The Defendants assumed responsibility for the plaintiff’s cases during the suspension. The plaintiff claimed that he had an agreement with the defendant to provide serv

By: Jeffrey M. Haber In Iberdrola Energy Projects v. Oaktree Capital Management L.P. , 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 03798 (1st Dept. July 11, 2024) ( here ), the Appellate Division, First Department was asked to determine the scope of a no recourse provision in a contract between two sophisticated commercial actors relating to the construction of a power plant, and, relatedly, the extent to which certain non-parties to the contract (defendants) were insulated from liability by virtue

By: Jeffrey M. Haber As readers of this Blog know, we often write about the pleading requirements under the Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”). In that regard, many of our articles involve cases in which CPLR 3016(b) is at issue – the provision of the civil practice rules requiring pleading fraud with particularity. There is another provision of the civil practice rules that requires particularity – CPLR 3016(a). This provision of the CPLR concerns claims for libel and sla

By: Jeffrey M. Haber A question about the application of law sometimes arises when a statute is amended, or the Legislature enacts a new statute that governs a particular issue. In this regard, the question concerns whether the new law or amendment should be applied retroactively or prospectively. There are “two axioms of statutory interpretation” that are relevant in determining whether a statute or amendment should be given retroactive effect. 1 “Amendments are presumed to

By: Jeffrey M. Haber On numerous occasions, this Blog has examined the attorney-client privilege and the attorney work product doctrine. 1 Today, we take another opportunity to explore the contours of these privileges. The Tension Between Disclosure and The Attorney-Client Privilege The Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”) directs that there shall be “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action.” 2 Notwithstanding, the CP

By: Jeffrey M. Haber “The right to a trial by jury is governed by article I (§ 2) of the New York State Constitution,” which provides “that a ‘ rial by jury in all cases in which it has heretofore been guaranteed by constitutional provision shall remain inviolate forever.’” 1 Enacted in 1938, “ his provision, …, is generally interpreted to mean that the guarantee extends to all matters to which the prior Constitution, enacted in 1894, extended the guarantee.” 2 “This includ

By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog has recently written on the issue of contractual limitations of liability.  < Here ="><em>Here</em></a><em>"> Proving that timing is everything, Jonathan H. Freiberger, one of Freiberger Haber LLP’s founding members, was interviewed for, and quoted in, an August 1, 2023, article appearing in Hotel News Now, titled: “Is Extreme Tourism Responsible Tourism? Hotels Catering to Adventurous Guests Seek to Limit Liability Exposure.”  Hotel News N

By: Jeffrey M. Haber Defamation is broadly defined as any false statement that harms the reputation of a person, business, or organization. It is a false statement “‘that tends to expose a person to public contempt, hatred, ridicule, aversion or disgrace.’” 1 Defamation includes both libel and slander. Libel generally refers to defamatory statements that are published or broadcast in writing, while slander refers to statements that are verbally made. To state a cause of acti

By: Jeffrey M. Haber The law can be funny. Not in a comedic way, but in a way that defies expectations about what is needed to bring a cause of action. Sometimes this is manifested in the quantum of evidence needed to bring an action and survive a pre-answer motion to dismiss. Other times, it is manifested in the capacity or standing of the plaintiff to commence the action. In Greco v. Syracuse ASC, LLC , 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 03987 (4th Dept., July 28, 2023) ( here ), the Appel

By Jonathan H. Freiberger In most situations, the contemplated goal of a mortgage foreclosure action is the sale of the subject property at public auction pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale.  Once a sale occurs, however, can it be set aside?  “A court has the inherent power to ensure that a sale conducted pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure is not made an instrument of injustice in the exercise of its equitable powers, has the discretion to set aside a judicia

By Jonathan H. Freiberger Folks sign contracts of all types that purport to contain limitations of liability; but are they enforceable.  In many cases, the answer is “yes”.  “In the absence of a contravening public policy, exculpatory provisions in a contract, purporting to insulate one of the parties from liability resulting from the party’s own negligence, although disfavored by the law and closely scrutinized by the courts, generally are enforced, subject however to variou

By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog has frequently written about RPALP 1304 .  By way of background, and as previously noted in this Blog, RPAPL 1304 requires that at least ninety days before commencing legal action against a borrower with respect to a “home loan” (as defined in the relevant statutes), a “lender, assignee or mortgage loan servicer” must: send written notice to the borrower by certified and regular mail that the loan is in default; provide a list of approved h