Fraud Claim Dismissed on Statute of Limitations Grounds: Plaintiff Unable to Use The Discovery Rule to Save His Claims Under New York law, an action based upon fraud must be commenced within six years of the date the cause of action accrued, or within two years of the time the plaintiff discovered or could have discovered the fraud with reasonable diligence, whichever is greater. C.P.L.R. § 213(8). See also Sargiss v. Magarelli , 12 N.Y.3d 527, 532 (2009); Carbon Capital Mgm

Over the past year, the Centers for Disease Control and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), made several decisions that undermined the rights of whistleblowers . In December, for example, the CDC recommended that employees avoid using certain words (including “diversity” and “entitlement”) when preparing budget documents for Congress. Under Federal law, the government is prohibited from restricting the free speech of its employees without cla

In the first six months of 2018, securities class action lawsuits were filed at “near record levels,” according to Cornerstone Research (“Cornerstone”). In a July 25, 2018 report, entitled “Securities Class Action Filings – 2018 Midyear Assessment” (the “Report”), Cornerstone found that plaintiffs had “filed more than 750 federal securities class actions since midyear 2016,” the “most prolific 24-month period” since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

Former Tesla, Inc. ("Tesla") (NASDAQ: TSLA) employee, Martin Tripp ("Tripp"), has been sued in Nevada federal court by the car behemoth for allegedly hacking into the company’s manufacturing system and sharing trade secrets, claiming that he had tried to sabotage the company. Tripp denies wrongdoing, contending that he was trying to alert the public about alleged improper practices that the company was engaging in, including using punctured batteries in cars, making excess w

In March, the IRS and two whistleblowers reached a settlement to a long-pending dispute regarding the amount of money that an IRS whistleblower is entitled to receive for successfully reporting a tax fraud or other tax underpayment. Under the IRS Whistleblower Reward Program , the IRS rewards a whistleblower who provides information to the IRS concerning the underpayment of taxes by either an individual or business that leads to the recovery of money and meets certain other c

Last year, this Blog wrote about the basic principles of contract interpretation under New York law. ( Here .) Much of that legal discussion sets the table for today’s article. When parties enter into a contract, each assumes that the language in their agreement accurately memorializes their understandings and intentions. For this reason, when a dispute arises, the courts in New York look to the intent of the parties as expressed by the language they chose to put into their

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

On May 30, 2018, Minnesota became the most recent state to join the list of states filing lawsuits in whistleblower litigation against Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics, Inc. ("Insys") ( INSY.O ): Arizona, New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina. Previous cases have been settled by Oregon, New Hampshire, Illinois, and New Hampshire for $9.45 million. The Minnesota action, which was filed in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis, comes as state attorneys general are

Investing in the market involves different degrees of risk. The reward for taking on risk is the potential for a greater investment return. The flip side, of course, is the potential to lose some or all of the money invested. Thus, when it comes to investing, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Nonetheless, there are people who promise no risk, no loss investing. They claim that they can place a person’s money into a “can’t miss” investment, where the risk of loss is min

In today’s post, this Blog looks at SEC enforcement actions and/or settlements of potential enforcement actions, the focus of which is the protection of the retail investor. New York-Based Investment Firm and Two of its Managers Charged for Failing to Supervise Brokers Who Defrauded Customers On June 29, 2018, the SEC announced (here) that it had charged New York-based broker-dealer Alexander Capital L.P. (“Alexander Capital”) and two of its managers for failing to supervis

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

Virtual offices are all the rage nowadays. However, if you are admitted to practice in New York State, but reside outside of New York State, a virtual office is insufficient to satisfy the requirements of section 470 of New York’s Judiciary Law, which provides: A person, regularly admitted to practice as an attorney and counsellor, in the courts of record of this state, whose office for the transaction of law business is within the state, may practice as such attorney or cou

On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court resolved a split among the circuit courts over the constitutionality of administrative law judges (“ALJs”) appointed by the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”). In Lucia v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Court held that the appointment of the SEC’s ALJs by members of the Commission’s staff, rather than the Commission itself, violated the Appointments Clause of the

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

Given the spate of high-profile sexual harassment cases that have been reported in the media, employers must understand their rights and responsibilities under state and federal employment laws. In particular, business owners must establish policies and procedures that clarify relationships with employees. By enlisting the services of experienced attorneys, you can protect your business from civil lawsuits brought by employees -- here’s how. Employee Policies and Procedures R

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of an investment banker barred from the securities industry in a case concerning the scope of investor protection laws. ( Here .) The high court will consider whether an individual who passed along false statements about a company’s financial condition can be found liable for engaging in securities fraud. In particular, the Court will consider whether the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) can circumvent the requiremen

Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, who was charged with libel for exposing the illegal doping scandal during the 2014 Sochi Olympics of Russian Olympic athletes, has now filed a motion to dismiss the charge, which his attorneys have portrayed as a ploy to find his whereabouts. “We have every confidence that this litigation was not started to vindicate the athlete, but to try to locate and identify Dr. Rodchenkov’s location,” said his attorney, Jim Walden. Rodchenkov has also filed a cou

On June 11, 2018, the United States Supreme Court held that the filing of a putative class action equitably tolls the limitations period for absent class members to file individual claims but does not toll the limitations period for the filing of a new class action involving the same or substantially the same claims. China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh , No. 17-432. ( Here .) Nearly 45 years ago, the Supreme Court decided American Pipe & Construction Co. v. Utah , 414 U.S. 538 (197