Historically, an individual was required to appear, in person, before the notary public acknowledging his/her signature. See In re Napolis , 169 A.D. 469, 471 (1 st Dep’t 1915) (“The court again wishes to express its condemnation of the acts of notaries taking acknowledgments or affidavits without the presence of the party whose acknowledgment is taken or the affiant, and that it will treat as serious professional misconduct the act of any notary thus violating his official

On March 24, 2020, the New York Court of Appeals decided Plavin v. Group Health Inc. , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 02025 (Mar. 24, 2020) ( here ), a case in which the Court was asked by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to decide whether an insurance company’s alleged misstatements and omissions about its insurance plan, made to over 600,000 current and former New York City employees and retirees, sufficed to satisfy the consumer-oriented element of a claim unde

Sometimes this Blog gets to address numerous issues in its examination of a case. In MDK Hijos Trust v. Nordlicht , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 30793(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Mar. 10, 2020) ( here ), we get the opportunity to do so again. MDK Hijos Trust v. Nordlicht Background Plaintiff, MDK Hijos Trust (“Plaintiff” or “MDK”), sought damages for, among other claims, fraudulent inducement and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with investments by the Katz family (Marcos Katz and

“Spoofing is a type of scam in which criminals attempt to obtain someone’s personal information by pretending to be a legitimate business, a neighbor, or some other innocent party.” See Julia Kagan, Spoofing, Investopedia (updated Jan. 29, 2020) (“Spoofing”) (here). Spoofing can occur in any form of online communication, including emails, text messages, telephone calls, and websites. Id. Although spoofing comes in many forms, the goal of spoofing is the same: to deceive peopl

As a general matter, business entities ( e.g. , for-profit and not-for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, and limited partnerships) formed outside the State of New York (whether in another state or a foreign country) may not do business within the State unless they receive authority to do so. See generally , Business Corporation Law (“BCL”) §§ 1301-1320 (corporations), Limited Liability Company Law (“LLCL”) §§ 801-809 (limited liability companies), Not-for-Prof

Most (lay) people think that a breach of contract action involves nothing more than a failure to perform some requirement in a contract. One need look no further than Wikipedia for such a definition. ( Here (“Breach occurs when a party to a contract fails to fulfill its obligation(s) as described in the contract.…”).) But as today’s post shows, there can be more to a breach of contract action than a simple failure to perform. Schum v. Spatorico , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 01816 (4t

Limited liability companies afford their owners protection from personal liability and, therefore, are a common business form. “In 1994, New York State enacted the Limited Liability Company Law (L 1994, ch 576, § 1). A limited liability company is an ‘unincorporated organization of one or more persons having limited liability for the contractual obligations and other liabilities of the business’ (Limited Liability Company Law § 102 ). Section 202 of the Limited Liability Com

As readers of this Blog know, we often write about the financial exploitation of America’s seniors and vulnerable adults. ( E.g. , here , here , here and here .) According to the U.S. Department of Justice, financial exploitation of senior adults is one of the most frequently reported forms of elder abuse. Indeed, a recent survey from the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) found that three in 10 state securities regulators had reported an increa

On February 27, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced (here) that it settled charges against Wells Fargo Clearing Services and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (collectively, “Wells Fargo”) for failing to supervise investment advisers and registered representatives who recommended single-inverse ETF investments to retail investors, and for lacking adequate compliance policies and procedures with respect to the suitability of those recommendation

Endorsements from the rich and famous, such as movie and television stars, professional athletes, and musicians, can be found on TV, radio, and social media. Virtually any product or service can be endorsed by a celebrity. Sometimes the endorsement concerns investment opportunities. But, as the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission”) has warned, “a celebrity endorsement does not mean that an investment is legitimate or that it is appropriate for all inv

Many cases involving an alleged fraud typically rise and fall on the reliance element of the cause of action. Sometimes, the issue before the court is the state of mind of the alleged fraudster. While at other times, the issue concerns whether the defendant made a misrepresentation of material fact. In today’s Fraud Notes, we examine Cohen Bros. Realty Corp. v. Mapes , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 01440 (1st Dept. Mar. 3, 2020) ( here ), a case involving the state of mind element of a

In a prior post ( here ), this Blog discussed Barrett v. Grenda , 2017 NY Slip Op. 07031 (4th Dept. Oct. 6, 2017), a case in which the court dismissed a breach of contract claim because the plaintiff failed to identify the provision of an agreement alleged to have been breached. In NFA Group v. Lotus Research, Inc. , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 01356 (2d Dept. Feb. 26, 2020) ( here ), the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the dismissal of a breach of contract action for t

In general, statutes of limitation govern the time in which a cause of action must be interposed after accrual. [This BLOG has previously addressed Statute of Limitations issues < HERE =">HERE</a>"> and < HERE =">HERE</a>"> .] Article 2 of the CPLR addresses statute of limitations issues in New York. Section 201 of the CPLR provides that “ n action … must be commenced within the time specified in this article unless a different time is prescribed by law or a shorter time

Forum non conveniens is a common law doctrine in which a court may dismiss an action because adjudication of the matter is more appropriate in another forum. In New York, the doctrine can be found in CPLR § 327(a). Under this section, a court may stay or dismiss an action if it finds “that in the interest of substantial justice the action should be heard in another forum.” CPLR § 327(a). The party seeking dismissal bears the burden of establishing that New York is not the pr

In very general terms, fraudulent conveyance statutes are designed to protect creditors from situations where a debtor transfers its assets or property to a creditor’s detriment. Sometimes such transfers are made with actual intent to defraud. Other times, transfers may be deemed to be constructively fraudulent regardless of the actual intent of the debtor/transferor. In Sarfati v. Palazzolo , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 30432(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Feb. 7, 2020) ( here ), Justic

People text and e-mail all day and every day. When communicating from a personal smart phone, a privately-owned personal computer or over a personal e-mail network, concerns over privacy are minimized. However, folks do a fair share of their personal business while at work -- often utilizing their work e-mail systems, smart phones and personal computers for same. While convenient, such practices could present problems as an employer may be permitted to have access to infor

In today’s Fraud Notes, we look at two fraud cases involving real estate: Lash v. Schleider , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 30406(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Feb. 11, 2020) ( here ); and Goff v. Parker , 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 30396(U) (Sup. Ct., Suffolk County Feb. 10, 2020) ( here ). Lash v. Schleider Lash arose from a contract between plaintiffs, Lori Lash, Robert Lash, and Goldsholle, LLC (“Goldsholle”), and the moving defendants, Jeffrey Schleider (“Schleider”) and Miron Properties, LLC

Elder financial exploitation is a significant problem. Everyone reading this article may be affected in some way. Our family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and/or customers may fall victim to financial exploitation. All of us are at risk of being financially abused and/or exploited as we grow older. Seniors are Particularly Vulnerable to Financial Abuse and Exploitation Research indicates that as seniors grow older, they become too trusting and fail to recognize false or mi