Parties to commercial and business disputes frequently encounter and litigate the threshold question whether their dispute must be arbitrated rather than litigated in court. But, before this question can be answered, there is an even more fundamental question that must be resolved: who decides whether a dispute is subject to arbitration – the court or the arbitrator? Courts have struggled with this question for years and continue to do so today. Generally, whether a claim is

Mortgages on real property are typically delivered to a lender to secure loans evidenced by promissory notes. When a default occurs under the note and/or mortgage litigation frequently follows. If the borrower and/or guarantor are solvent, the lender may choose to sue on the note for monetary damages in an action at law. If the property is valuable, but the borrower has insufficient funds to satisfy a money judgment the lender might decide to sue to foreclose the mortgage

The Basics A contract is an agreement between two or more parties to do something ( e.g. , provide goods or services) in exchange for a benefit. When one or more parties to a contract fails to perform a term in their agreement, they are in breach of that agreement. Most breaches fall into one of two categories: actual or anticipatory. In the former, a party to the contract fails or refuses to perform his/her obligations under the agreement or performs his/her obligations i

Investing in the stock market can be challenging. Understanding investment vehicles like stocks, bonds, limited partnerships, annuities, hedge funds, derivatives and mutual funds can be overwhelming for investors. For that reason, many investors rely on stockbrokers and financial advisors to provide suitable investment advice to protect their hard-earned money. While most brokers and financial advisors act in their customer’s best interest, some do not. When that happens,

CPLR § 306-b provides: Service of the summons and complaint, summons with notice, third-party summons and complaint, or petition with a notice of petition or order to show cause shall be made within one hundred twenty days after the commencement of the action or proceeding, provided that in an action or proceeding, except a proceeding commenced under the election law, where the applicable statute of limitations is four months or less, service shall be made not later than fif

On October 17, 2017, the National Whistleblower Center, a non-profit, tax-exempt, non-partisan whistleblower legal advocacy organization, Senator Charles Grassley, and the U.S. Government filed amici briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court in Digital Realty Trust v. Somers (No. 16-1276). In July of this year, this Blog posted an article about the case. ( Here .) The issue in Somers concerns the definition of “whistleblower,” and whether the anti-retaliation provisions in the

Last year was a banner year for fines levied by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regarding the sale of variable annuities. In 2016, $30.3 million in fines were assessed over 30 variable annuity cases. Now, the industry watchdog is continuing its crackdown on these financial products, with an emphasis on annuity exchanges. Annuity Exchange Abuses Recently, FINRA’s enforcement unit suspended two brokers and ordered the disgorgement of more than $185,000 in co

Certain provisions of New York’s Labor Law require that construction workers be provided with a safe work environment. Contractors and owners can be held strictly liable under certain circumstances if a construction worker is injured while working on a construction project. Such strict liability may apply to homeowners if they become too helpful or involved with construction and, therefore, render inapplicable the exceptions inserted into the Labor Law for their protection.

On October 12, 2017, the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation that would provide legal protection for financial advisers who report the financial abuse and exploitation of senior Americans to authorities. The bill, which was unanimously approved by the committee, will go to the House floor for a vote. Like the current bill, the previous version of the Safe Act received broad bipartisan support during the last Congress. Congressman Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and

The SEC recently announced that fraud charges were being brought against the creator of two Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”). The complaint alleges that Maksim Zaslavskiy ("Zaslavskiy") defrauded investors with two ICOs, the REcoin Group Foundation, LLC ("REcoin") and the DRC World, Inc. (also known as the Diamond Reserve Club) ("DRC"), that were said to be backed by investments in real estate and diamonds. What is an ICO? ICOs are a way for startups to raise money by issuing

Article 3-A of New York’s Lien Law establishes a system of trusts to ensure that certain individuals or entities that contributed services, labor and/or materials to a construction project for the improvement of real property are paid for their efforts.

New York, NY ( Law Firm Newswire ) October 10, 2017 - Freiberger Haber LLP is pleased to announce that co-founding partner, Jeffrey M. Haber, has been named by Super Lawyers Magazine® to be among the top lawyers in the New York metropolitan area for the sixth consecutive year. Mr. Haber was recognized for his work in business litigation. As part of his history of professional achievements, he was also recognized as a Super Lawyer in 2008-2010 and 2012-2016. Super Lawyers Ma

Contracts are often at the heart of business and commercial disputes. Not all contract disputes result in litigation. A well-drafted contract can often prevent or resolve a dispute before the parties run to court. But, when the parties cannot resolve their differences, and resort to litigation, it is important to understand the rules governing the breach of contract claim. As a general matter, to allege a breach of contract, a plaintiff must plead (and prove) the following:

Many contracts require that a party procure an “Additional Insured” endorsement to their commercial general liability (and similar) insurance policies. Generally, the purpose of an “Additional Insured” endorsement is to provide insurance coverage to individuals or entities other than the purchaser of the policy. For example, many commercial lease agreements require not only that a tenant procure insurance to cover a variety of risks, but that the landlord be named as an add

This Blog has previously written about the financial exploitation of America’s seniors. ( Here , here , here and here .) As noted in these prior posts, unscrupulous investment professionals (such as, stockbrokers, financial advisors and insurance brokers) often exploit the fact that many elder and disabled investors are not market savvy and financially sophisticated or are trusting of those in a position of knowledge and authority. They prey on the fact that senior and vulne

Securities Litigation 101: Commencing and Contesting a Federal Securities Class Action Panelist: Jeffrey M. Haber A motion to dismiss often proves a decisive event in resolving a federal securities class action, raising the stakes both for defeating or winning the motion. A premier faculty of experienced members of the plaintiff and defense bar will present an overview of the legal issues and strategic considerations that inform the filing of a securities class action and

In the wake of the hack of personal consumer information from Equifax Inc.’s computers, congressional lawmakers have asked the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") to investigate whether company executives violated insider trading laws. The cyber breach involved the theft of 143 million Americans’ personal data --including Social Security numbers, driver’s license records and birth dates. Equifax is one of the main credit bureaus that compiles data to form credit histor

It is widely known that there is a residential foreclosure crisis throughout the country and New York State is no exception. The New York State Legislature responded by promulgating a series of rules designed to protect residential homeowners. These rules, however, place additional burdens on foreclosing lenders and courts throughout New York State have demonstrated little sympathy for foreclosing lenders that fail to follow these rules. For example, section 1303 of the Re