Melville, NY ( Law Firm Newswire ) August 31, 2017 - Freiberger Haber LLP to leverage more than 50 years of combined experience in delivering results oriented, client-centric representation to corporations, small businesses, partnerships and individuals. Jonathan Freiberger and Jeffrey Haber, former partners at prominent New York law firms, have come together to launch Freiberger Haber LLP . The new law firm will represent businesses and individuals involved in a broad ran

In July, this Blog wrote about the settlement in connection with Wells Fargo & Co.’s phony accounts scandal that will require the bank to pay millions of dollars to aggrieved customers. Now, Wells Fargo has disclosed in a regulatory filing that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau ("CFPB") is investigating whether the bank incorrectly closed real accounts and left customers without access to their funds. CFPB Probes Wells Fargo Account Closures The CFPB probe was commenced

The hits keep coming for money center banks, such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and others, as three U.S. pension funds have filed a class action lawsuit over alleged stock lending abuses. The suit, brought by the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, Orange County Employees’ Retirement System, and Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association, claims the banks’ stock lending practices violate federal antitrust laws. The funds allege that the banks colluded to boyco

When disputes arise over the meaning of a contract or a clause within a contract, courts are called upon to interpret the agreement to give it meaning. Courts in textualist jurisdictions will examine the language of the contract as whole – the “four corners rule” – rather than the disputed clause in isolation. And, when the contract is clear, unambiguous and fully integrated ( i.e. , the parties have integrated their agreement into a single writing), all prior negotiations an

On August 8, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a nearly $75 million settlement with PHH Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: Symbol PHH) and PHH Home Loans (collectively, “PHH”) to resolve allegations that PHH violated the False Claims Act by knowingly originating and underwriting mortgage loans insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (“HUD”) Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans A

The foundation of virtually every business and commercial transaction is a contract. Indeed, it is hard to imagine any transaction for the purchase or sale of goods, the merger or acquisition of a business, or the provision of services that is not founded upon a contract. There is almost nothing more frustrating, or potentially costlier, to businesses and commercial practitioners than a dispute over the meaning of a contract. Such disputes often arise over the performance or

According to the latest report from Cornerstone Research, which it jointly prepared with the Stanford Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, titled “Securities Class Action Filings – 2017 Mid-Year Assessment,” securities class action lawsuits hit a record pace during the first 6 months of 2017. (The press release announcing the issuance of the Report can be found here .) By the end of June 2017, plaintiffs filed 226 securities fraud class actions in federal court, more tha

As a general matter, when parties negotiate an agreement in a clear and unambiguous document, their writing will be enforced according to its terms. Evidence outside the four corners of the document as to what the parties really intended ( i.e. , parole evidence) is generally inadmissible. Golden Gate Yacht Club v. Societe Nautique De Geneve , 12 N.Y.3d 248 (2009). Among the reasons for this rule is to give “stability to commercial transactions,” and other types of commercial

Robocalls. We all get them. They are annoying. But, are they legal? Not surprisingly, the answer depends on the circumstances involved. In 1991, Congress passed the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) to protect consumers from businesses that use automatic telephone dialing systems to deliver prerecorded messages without prior consent. Mims v. Arrow Fin. Servs., LLC , 565 U.S. 368, 370-71 (2012) (noting that the TCPA was enacted in response to “ oluminous consumer c

As this Blog has noted in a previous post ( here ), to state a retaliation claim, both the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”) and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“Dodd-Frank”) require plaintiffs to demonstrate, among other things, that they engaged in protected whistleblowing activity, that their employer knew they engaged in protected activity, and that there was a causal connection between the protected activity and an adverse employme

In business, relationships are important. One relationship that is essential to successful businesses is the principal-agent relationship. A principal-agent relationship may be established by evidence of the consent of one person to allow another to act on his or her behalf and subject to his or her control, and consent by the other to act, even where the agent is acting as a volunteer. 5015 Art Fin. Partners, LLC v. Christie’s Inc. , 58 A.D.3d 469, 471 (1st Dept. 2009) (quo

On July 10, 2017, new Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") rules went into effect that permit companies, regardless of their size, to file paperwork for initial public offerings without immediately making public disclosures. The SEC's announcement of the new policy can be found here . "This is an important step in our efforts to foster capital formation, provide investment opportunities, and protect investors," said Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, B

Notice and reporting requirements in public contracts are common in public works projects. They provide public agencies with timely notice of deviations from budgeted expenditures or of any supposed malfeasance, and allow them to take early steps to avoid extra or unnecessary expense, make any necessary adjustments, mitigate damages and avoid the waste of public funds. A.H.A. Gen. Constr. v. New York City Hous. Auth. , 92 N.Y.2d 20, 33-34 (1998). Such provisions are importan

It is well settled that “ very contract imposes upon each party a duty of good faith and fair dealing in its performance and its enforcement.” Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 205 (1981). See also 511 W 232nd Owners Corp. v Jennifer Realty Co. , 98 N.Y.2d 144, 153 (2002) (“In New York, all contracts imply a covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the course of performance”). “This covenant embraces a pledge that neither party shall do anything which will have the effect

Prejudgment attachment is a provisional remedy that provides a plaintiff with a statutory mechanism by which he/she can secure a defendant’s assets during the pendency of a lawsuit. In effect, an order of attachment is a lien against a defendant’s property. As such, a prejudgment order of attachment increases the likelihood of recovery on a later-obtained judgment in the action. The requirements for obtaining a prejudgment attachment order vary from state to state; there is

No one likes to read fine print or lengthy agreements. Anyone buying insurance, for example, knows this to be so. In fact, a 2016 car insurance TV commercial by Liberty Mutual highlights this point. In the ad, the actress talks about an insurance policy that is over 20 pages long that no one reads, except for lawyers. The question becomes, then, does a failure to read an insurance policy bar a claim against an insurance company or broker for failing to obtain insurance believ

Earlier this month, Judge Richard J. Sullivan of the Southern District of New York dismissed a federal claim at the plaintiffs’ request, despite the defendants’ argument that the plaintiffs were “clearly and intentionally attempting to engage in forum manipulation.” In Nix v. Office of The Commissioner of Baseball, D/B/A Major League Baseball , Judge Sullivan found that while the plaintiffs’ “manifest purpose” was “to defeat federal jurisdiction” it was not the only factor t

Although courts will pierce the corporate veil “to prevent fraud or achieve equity,” Morris v. N.Y. State Department of Taxation & Finance , 82 N.Y.2d 135, 140 (1993) (quoting Int’l Aircraft Trading Co. v. Mfrs. Trust Co. , 297 N.Y. 285, 292 (1948)), they are, nevertheless, reluctant to disregard the corporate form. TNS Holdings Inc. v. MKI Sec. Corp. , 92 N.Y.2d 335, 339 (1998). After all, the purpose of incorporating is to allow individuals to avoid personal liability. See