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The First Department Finds No Spoliation Because Roof Repairs were Not Made In Bad Faith, But to Mitigate Damages
Discovery, an important part of the litigation process, enables litigants to collect information to assist in the prosecution and defense of a case. Because full disclosure is important, there are penalties for abusing the disclosure process. Today’s BLOG article focusses on spoliation[1] of evidence.

Jonathan Freiberger
Jun 6, 20254 min read


Duplication, Sophistication and Disclaimers . . . Oh my!
In Skyview Capital, LLC v. Conduent Business Servs., LLC, 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 03291 (1st Dept. June 03, 2025), the Appellate Division, First Department addressed various issues concerning fraud causes of action with which readers of this Blog are familiar: the duplication doctrine, justifiable reliance and disclaimer clauses

Jeffrey Haber
Jun 4, 20258 min read


Fraud Notes: Statute of Limitations and the Failure to Plead The Elements of a Fraud Claim
In today’s Fraud Notes, we examine Yudkin v. Evergreen Terrace 888 Corp., 2025 NY Slip Op 03223 (2d Dept. May 28, 2025), and Lapin v. Verner, 2025 NY Slip Op 03184 (2d Dept. May 28, 2025). Yudkin involved the statute of limitations for fraud and the continuing wrong doctrine. Lapin involved the failure to plead the elements of a fraud claim.

Jeffrey Haber
Jun 2, 202513 min read


Second Department Holds that Defendant Waived Right to Vacate a Foreclosure Sale Not Held Within 90 Days of Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale
In today’s Blog, we revisit the requirement in RPAPL 1351(1) that a foreclosure sale occur within 90 days of the date of the judgment of foreclosure and sale.

Jonathan Freiberger
May 30, 20254 min read


Enforcement News: Ponzi-Like Scheme, Elder Financial Exploitation and Affinity Fraud
Today, we examine an enforcement action brought by the SEC involving a Ponzi-like scheme that targeted retired senior citizens that the defendant met through his church community

Jeffrey Haber
May 28, 20255 min read


Fraud and the Assignment of Lottery Winnings
A claim for fraud requires “a material misrepresentation of a fact, knowledge of its falsity, an intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance by the plaintiff and damages.” In First Trinity Life Ins. Co. v. Advance Funding LLC, 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 03133 (1st Dept. May 22, 2025), discussed below, knowledge of falsity (i.e., scienter) and reliance were the elements at issue.

Jeffrey Haber
May 26, 20258 min read


Licorice Sticks and New York's General Business Law
In Libman v. Hershey Co., 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 31769(U), (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County May 5, 2025) (here), the motion court was asked to consider whether a front-of-the-package label on the Twizzlers candy wrapper violated General Business Law (“GBL”) §§ 349 and 350.

Jeffrey Haber
May 21, 20256 min read


Letter Declaring Contract Void Ab Initio, Demand for The Return of Down Payment, and Commencement of Litigation Constitutes an Anticipatory Breach of Contract
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 fail to perform a term in their agreement, they are in breach of that agreement.

Jeffrey Haber
May 19, 20259 min read


Second Department Holds Foreclosure Sale Still Valid Despite Reversal of Related Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale
In today’s article we will discuss Yesmin v. Aliobaba, LLC, an Opinion and Order rendered on May 14, 2025, in which the Appellate Division, Second Department, held that “a notice of pendency that was unexpired at the time of the foreclosure sale has no effect on the title acquired by a good faith purchaser for value from a sale conducted pursuant to the judgment of foreclosure and sale.”

Jonathan Freiberger
May 16, 20255 min read


Enforcement News: Founder of Crypto Asset and Foreign Exchange Trading Company Charged with Orchestrating a Ponzi-Like Fraudulent Scheme and For Misappropriating More Than $57 Million of Investor F...
The allure of guaranteed profits from sophisticated crypto asset and foreign exchange trading served as the underlying predicate for the claims asserted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against Ramil Palafox (“Defendant”), the founder of Praetorian Group International Corporation (“PGI Global”), a now-defunct entity he controlled, in S.E.C. v. Palafox, Case 1:25-cv-00681 (E.D. Va. 2025). The case marks the first crypto enforcement action under the new Chairma

Jeffrey Haber
May 14, 20254 min read


Enforcement News: SEC Commences Enforcement Action Against Promoters of a Ponzi Scheme Involving Unregistered Securities
A Ponzi scheme is intended to give investors the false impression that their investment is profitable. In a Ponzi scheme, the fraudster/promoter pays early investors with money that the investor believes is the return on his/her/its investment. In actuality, the money used to pay the investor comes from the investor’s own principal investment dollars or the pooled investment dollars of subsequent investors.

Jeffrey Haber
May 12, 20255 min read


The Second Department Holds That Lender Cannot Use CPLR 3215(c) to Avoid Dismissal of Foreclosure Action Despite Death of Borrower
Today’s article relates to a decision in a mortgage foreclosure action[1] that combines numerous concepts about which we have previously written.

Jonathan Freiberger
May 9, 20254 min read


Continuing Wrong Doctrine Found Not Applicable To Toll The Limitations Period For Fraud And Other Causes of Action
In Tiburcio v. Grant Ave. Bronx Realty Corp., 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 02669 (1st Dept. May 01, 2025) (here), the Appellate Division, First Department was asked to decide whether the statute of limitations expired on all causes of action alleged by the plaintiff or whether the continuing wrong doctrine applied to toll the applicable limitations periods. As discussed below, the Court held that the continuing wrong doctrine to did not apply to save the complaint from dismissal.

Jeffrey Haber
May 4, 20255 min read


The Appellate Division, Second Department, Dismisses Appeal Because Record on Appeal Failed to Include Copies of Necessary Documents and, Instead, Relied on References to E-filed Documents as Permi...
The tedious task of compiling hard copies of exhibits to annex to motion papers in supreme court litigation practice was ameliorated in 2014 when the CPLR was amended to permit litigants, in efiled cases, to simply refer in their briefs and affirmations to docket numbers on the efiling system.

Jonathan Freiberger
May 2, 20253 min read
Trivial Breaches and Form Over Substance
By: Jeffrey M. Haber The elements of a claim for breach of contract are straightforward. The movant must establish: (1) the existence of a valid contract, (2) the plaintiff’s performance of the contract, (3) the defendant’s breach of the contract, and (4) damages resulting from the defendant’s breach. As readers of this Blog know, “ hen the terms of a written contract are clear and unambiguous, the intent of the parties must be found within the four corners of the contract, g
admin
Apr 29, 20257 min read
BCL § 1314: Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over Cases Involving Foreign Corporations Against Foreign Corporations
By: Jeffrey M. Haber It is well settled that the parties to an agreement may freely select any forum to resolve any disputes regarding the interpretation or performance of the agreement. A forum selection clause is prima facie valid “unless-it is shown by the challenging party to be unreasonable, unjust, in contravention of public policy, invalid due to fraud or overreaching, or it is shown that a trial in the selected forum would be so gravely difficult that the challenging
admin
Apr 21, 20256 min read
FAPA and Statutes of Limitation Revisited
By: Jonathan H. Freiberger Today’s article revisits statute of limitations issues and FAPA [1] in residential mortgage foreclosure actions [2] . Briefly stated, a mortgage foreclosure action is governed by a six-year statute of limitations. CPLR 213(4) ; see also Anglestone Real Estate Venture Partners Corp. v. Bank of New York Melon , 221 A.D.3d 943, 946 (2 nd Dep’t 2023). When mortgage payments are payable in installments, the six-year period runs from each missed paymen
admin
Apr 18, 20254 min read
Enforcement News: Relationship Investment Scams
By: Jeffrey M. Haber On April 16, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or Commission”) announced ( here ) that its Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (“OIEA”) had unveiled an anti-fraud public service campaign to warn investors about the impact relationship investment scams can have on their financial future. As explained in the release, “ elationship investment scams typically involve a ‘long con’ in which scammers reach out online or through text messa
admin
Apr 16, 20256 min read
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