By:  Jeffrey M. Haber In today’s article, we discuss how courts interpret arbitration clauses in contracts by focusing on  Perle Tech. Inc. v. United Apollo Intl. Inc. , a case recently decided in Supreme Court , Kings County. Despite the use of the word “may” in the arbitration clause, the court held that arbitration was mandatory, not permissive, due to other contract provisions indicating clear intent to arbitrate. The decision underscores the point that under New York la

By: Jonathan H. Freiberger This BLOG has written extensively on a wide variety of issues in the area of mortgage foreclosure. One particular area that has been the subject of numerous articles is RPAPL 1304 . By way of brief background, and as addressed in numerous prior BLOG articles, the Second Department has stated that an “RPAPL 1304 notice is a notice pursuant to the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act ( Real Property Law § 265-a ), the underlying purpose of which is to a

By:  Jeffrey M. Haber In Lopez v. O’Sullivan , 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 32178(U) (Sup. Ct., Suffolk County) ( here ), the court declined to dismiss fraud claims, among others, finding that plaintiff sufficiently stated a claim for such relief against the defendants. The court determined that plaintiff provided detailed allegations of misrepresentations made by defendants, which induced him to enter into transactions that ultimately deprived him of ownership of his property. In doin

By:  Jeffrey M. Haber In Bardy v. Bonnem , 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 03698 (2d Dept. June 18, 2025) ( here ), plaintiff claimed an oral agreement entitled him to purchase a 25% ownership interest in a drive-thru coffee business in exchange for developing it. The agreement was allegedly based on a November 13, 2016 email offer, orally accepted three days later. Plaintiff allegedly performed substantial work without compensation, relying on the agreement. When the business succeeded,

By: Jonathan H. Freiberger This BLOG frequently writes about mortgage foreclosure, generally, and RPAPL 1304 , specifically. By way of brief background, and as addressed in numerous prior BLOG articles, the Second Department has stated that an “RPAPL 1304 notice is a notice pursuant to the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act ( Real Property Law § 265-a ), the underlying purpose of which is to afford greater protections to homeowners confronted with foreclosure.” Wells Fargo Ban

By:  Jeffrey M. Haber In One River Run Acquisition, LLC v. Milde , 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 03653 (1st Dept. June 17, 2025) ( here ), the Appellate Division, First Department reinstated counterclaims for fraud and fraudulent transfers after they had been dismissed at the motion court level. The case arose from a failed joint venture between One River Run Acquisition, LLC (“ORRA”) and Greenwich Group International LLC (“GGI”) to develop a luxury resort in Colorado. In its countercla

By: Jeffrey M. Haber New York “favors and encourages arbitration as a means of conserving the time and resources of the courts and the contracting parties”. Under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), “‘questions of arbitrability must be addressed with a healthy regard for the federal policy ... any doubts concerning the scope of arbitrable issues should be resolved in favor of arbitration.’” Thus, “where the contract contains an arbitration clause, there is a presumption

By: Jonathan H. Freiberger Generally speaking, a party is bound by the terms of a contract to which it is a party. Wu v. Uber Technologies, Inc. , 2024 WL 4874383 at *5 (Ct. Appeals of New York November 25, 2024). Thus, contracts should be enforced according to their terms when they are “clear and unambiguous”. Rocar Realty Northeast, Inc. v. Jefferson Valley Mall Ltd. Partnership , 38 A.D.3d 744, 746 (2 nd Dep’t 2007) (citations omitted). This is so even when a party fails

By:  Jeffrey M. Haber This Blog has written about the process known as “summary judgment in lieu of a complaint” on several occasions. The process, codified in CPLR 3213, is a procedure that is unique to New York practice. CPLR 3213 allows a plaintiff to move for summary judgment before the complaint is filed, directly challenging the defendant’s ability to contest the underlying claim. It bypasses traditional pleading and discovery and is available when the action is based