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By: Jeffrey M. Haber Over the years, this Blog has examined numerous cases (indeed, too many to link to) in which the plaintiff claims to have been fraudulently induced to enter into a contract with the defendant. Most of the cases were dismissed because the plaintiff failed to allege a misrepresentation of present fact, as opposed to a misrepresentation of future intent to perform under the contract. Today, we examine, International Business Machines Corp. v. GlobalFoundries

By Jonathan H. Freiberger As noted in several of this Blog’s previous articles < here =">here</a>"> , < here =">here</a>"> and < here =">here</a>"> , when an individual or entity borrows money from a lender, the repayment obligation is typically evidenced by a promissory note.  To secure the borrower’s repayment obligations, lenders generally request some form of collateral.  When the collateral is an interest in real property, the borrower generally delivers a mortgage to t

By: Jeffrey M. Haber In prior articles, we examined the motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint under CPLR § 3213. See , e.g. , here and here . As explained below, summary judgment in lieu of complaint is available for an instrument for the payment of money only.  Today, we examine Sanghvi Diamonds LLC v. Agadjani , 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 30738(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Mar. 8, 2022) ( here ), and Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A. v. Lehner , 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 30739(U) (Su

By:  Jeffrey M. Haber The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has frequently brought enforcement actions against those who trade upon material, non-public information. Many of these actions show that insider trading extends beyond the employees of the subject company. In those enforcement actions, an employee of the company shares material, non-public information with a third party, typically a family member or friend, who thereafter trades on the information or shares

By Jonathan H. Freiberger “The purpose of a deed is to pass title to land; it is the appropriate method of making a voluntary transfer of real property in the lifetime of the grantor.”  43 N.Y. Jur. 2d Deeds § 1 (citation/footnote omitted).  A deed that is forged “lacks the voluntariness of conveyance.”  Faison v. Lewis , 25 N.Y.3d 220, 224 (2015) (citation omitted).  Accordingly, a deed with a forged signature “holds a unique position in the law; a legal nullity at its crea

By: Jeffrey M. Haber Generally, whether a claim is subject to arbitration is a decision for the court, not the arbitrator. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that “parties can agree to arbitrate ‘gateway’ questions of ‘arbitrability.’” 1 As discussed below, such “delegation clauses” are enforceable where “there is ‘clea and unmistakabl ’ evidence” that the parties intended to arbitrate arbitrability issues. 2 “When deciding whether the parties agreed to arbitrate a c

By: Jeffrey M. Haber Today, we examine 79 Madison LLC v. Ebrahimzadeh , 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 02052 (1st Dept. Mar. 24, 2022) ( here ), a judgment enforcement action under Article 52 of the CPLR that contains some interesting issues that this Blog has not addressed in quite some time, if at all.  The first issue we examine is the forum selection clause.  A forum selection clause is a contractual provision that sets forth the location designated by the parties for dispute resolut

By Jonathan H. Freiberger This Blog has frequently written about numerous different issues regarding residential mortgage foreclosure.  One recurring issue relates to the evidentiary proof necessary for the lender to satisfy its prima facie foreclosure case and/or to demonstrate its standing to commence its foreclosure action (when the borrower raises standing as a defense).  [Eds. Note: such issues have been discussed in this Blog, inter alia , < here =">here</a>"> and < he

By: Jeffrey M. Haber Family business disputes tend to be ugly, destructive, and protracted. For a case in point, we examine Max v. ALP, Inc. , 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 01969 (1st Dept. Mar 22, 2022) ( here ), a heated and contentious dispute among members of the Max family regarding control of ALP, Inc., a corporation formed by the iconic artist Peter Max to, among other things, market, license and commercialize his artwork. ALP was formed in 2000. Adam and Libra, Peter’s children,