Business Law

Several recent residential mortgage foreclosure actions are a good reminder of the importance of promptly moving for default judgments against non-appearing defendants. Rule 3215(c) of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules provides, in pertinent part, that: If the plaintiff fails to take proceedings for the entry of judgment within one year after the default, the court shall not enter judgment but shall dismiss the complaint as abandoned, without costs, upon its own initi

Family-run businesses are very common in the commercial world. In fact, according to recent studies, more than one-half of all U.S. companies are family operated.  Think of mom and pop stores and Walmart. The stress of running a family business can ruin a relationship. One need only look at Nissim Kassab (“Nissim”) and Avraham Kasab (“Avraham” and together with Nissim the “Brothers”), brothers and owners of Mall 92-30 Associates LLC (“Mall”). The Brothers have been in litig

Traveling is an amazing way to see the world. New York is an amazing place in the world to see. As the global capital of fashion, art, finance, and more, it comes as no surprise that tourism has always accounted for a large amount of the state’s revenue. Individuals travel from all over the world to see the many things that New York has to offer. With all of the opportunity in New York and the amount of business conducted within the state, New York has become the second large

In the United States, support for legalizing marijuana has been growing. Thirty states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation that legalize marijuana in some form. Eight states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use of marijuana. According to a 2017 Gallup Poll, 64% of Americans support legalizing marijuana for recreational use. With marijuana becoming more accepted, the cannabis industry has grown. Many of the companies fueling this growth are pu

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been busy so far this month. In the latest roundup, this Blog looks at three enforcement actions taken by the SEC against hedge funds and advisers involving fraud and insider trading. Hedge Fund Advisory Firm Settles Charges Related to Asset Mismarking and Insider Trading On May 8, 2018, the SEC announced ( here ) that New York-based Visium Asset Management LP (“Visium”), a hedge fund advisory firm, agreed to settle charges r

A shareholder is a part owner of a company. While many people understand this very basic concept in business matters , they may not realize what kinds of rights and responsibilities come along with being a shareholder. Shareholders in private companies generally have the same rights as they would in a public company, but they may be enforced differently. A New York business lawyer can help you understand the difference and even assert your rights should you feel that you are

On April 24, 2018, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) announced that Altaba, Inc. (“Altaba”), the successor in interest to Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo”), agreed to pay $35 million to settle charges that it misled investors by failing to disclose that hundreds of millions of user accounts had been hacked, resulting in the theft of sensitive user personal data. ( Here .) The settlement follows the issuance of the SEC’s cybersecurity disclosure guidance for repo

New York creditors often look to the Debtor and Creditor Law (the “DCL”), as well as the common law, to recover assets that have been (or may be) transferred by debtors to another party. Whether the debtor transfers assets with intent to defraud or without fair consideration, the DCL provides creditors with a number of remedies. The DCL in Brief Under Section 276 of the DCL, very conveyance made ... with actual intent ... to hinder, delay, or defraud either present or future

Sometimes in litigation, the facts get in the way of the desired results.  Such was the case for the defendant in Age Group, Ltd. v. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (April 12, 2018), in which the First Department affirmed Supreme Court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss plaintiff’s causes of action sounding in breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The facts are set forth in Supreme Cou

On March 29, 2018, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced ( here ) that it had reached agreement with Barclays Capital, Inc. and several of its affiliates (together, “Barclays” or the “Bank”) to settle a civil action in which the United States sought civil penalties for alleged conduct related to Barclays’ underwriting and issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) between 2005 and 2007. Under the settlement, Barclays will pay the United States two billi

On March 20, 2018, the United States Supreme Court decided Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund , No. 15-1439, in which it unanimously held that the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 (“SLUSA”) does not strip state courts of subject-matter jurisdiction over class actions involving claims exclusively brought under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “1933 Act”), and does not allow for the removal of those cases to federal court. ( Here .) The Cou

Since the summer of 2016, this Blog has written about the Fiduciary Rule (the “Fiduciary Rule” or the “Rule”), which the Department of Labor (“DOL”) promulgated in April 2016. ( See , e.g. , here , here , here , here , here , here , here .) Readers of this Blog know that the implementation of the Rule has not gone smoothly. The Rule has been the subject of congressional and industry attacks and legal challenges. On March 15, 2018, one of the legal challenges succeeded – the C

According to a new report by Cornerstone Research (“Cornerstone”), titled Securities Class Action Settlements—2017 Review and Analysis (the “Report”) ( here ), total settlement dollars from securities class action lawsuits declined “dramatically” in 2017, even as the number of settlements remained relatively steady. Cornerstone’s March 14, 2018 press release about the Report can be found here . In 2017, the total value of court-approved securities class action settlements

Through the years, numerous class action lawsuits have been brought involving securities fraud, corporate misconduct, unfair business practices and other claims. This article provides a brief overview of class action lawsuits . What is a class action lawsuit? A class action is a procedural device in which one or more persons sue on behalf of a larger group of persons, referred to as the “class.” The class action lawsuit started in the courts of equity in seventeenth-century

The New York Court of Appeals rules that a litigant must produce information from her Facebook account notwithstanding her chosen “privacy” settings.  The plaintiff in Forman v. Henkin (February 13, 2018) was injured after falling from a horse owned by defendant and alleges she suffered “spinal and traumatic brain injuries resulting in cognitive deficits, memory loss, difficulties with written and oral communication, and social isolation.”  During the litigation, plaintiff r

Directors and officers of publicly traded companies have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders. In the face of corporate misconduct, executives are often reluctant to take legal action against their peers. However, shareholders may bring a derivative lawsuit against the board of directors and other responsible parties. The goal is to compel the board to remedy the damages sustained by company and to protect the interests of investors. Nonetheless, a successful claim depends

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently released its 2018 Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter (the “Priorities Letter”) ( here ). here .=">here</a>."> The Priorities Letter identifies the areas that FINRA intends to focus on in the coming year. “The coming year will bring both continuity and change in FINRA’s programs,” FINRA President and CEO, Robert Cook (“Cook”), wrote in a note accompanying the letter. FINRA’S 2018 Priorities at a Glance T

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB” or the “Board”) is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies. The Board was created as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in response to the accounting scandals at Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. – scandals that cost investors billions of dollars. Prior to the creation of the Board, the profession was self-regulated. The PCAOB protects investors by promoting informative,

Last month, the Second Circuit reinstated a securities class action against Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (“Alibaba” or the “Company”) and four of its senior executives for making materially false and misleading statements and omissions in connection with the Company’s September 2014 initial public offering (“IPO”). In June 2016, Chief Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the complaint because the plaintiffs failed to s

Under Section 702 of New York’s Limited Liability Company Law (“LLCL”), a court sitting in the judicial district in which the office of the company is located may dissolve the company “whenever it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business in conformity with the articles of organization or operating agreement.” LLCL § 702. (This Blog addressed Section 702 here and here .) To successfully petition for the dissolution of a limited liability company under LLCL § 70