In Benowski v. Track Dr., LLC affirmed summary judgment dismissing a contractor’s claim for unpaid retainage and other compensation arising from a commercial renovation project. Although the parties never executed a formal written construction contract, the Court enforced a January 2020 release under which the contractor acknowledged that $233,797.23 constituted the “entire unpaid balance” due and waived all claims relating to the project.

In today’s article, we examine Kingdom Assoc., Inc. v. WBC Servs. Inc., 2026 N.Y. Slip Op. 03070 (1st Dept. May 14, 2026), a case arising from a proposed subcontract for excavation and foundation work on a New York City project.

New York’s CPLR 3213 allows a plaintiff to seek summary judgment in lieu of a complaint when liability for a sum certain is evident from an instrument for the payment of money only, such as a promissory note or unconditional guaranty. This expedited procedure avoids delays inherent in filing and answering a complaint.

In any contract dispute, “it is necessary to consider the language in the contract, for that is what controls the parties’ rights and responsibilities.” For this reason, New York courts “are guided by the standard rules of contractual interpretation, which provide that ‘a written agreement that is complete, clear and unambiguous on its face must be enforced according to the plain meaning of its terms.’”

In Sire Spirits, LLC v. Beam Suntory, Inc., 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 06297 (1st Dept. Nov. 18, 2025), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of a motion to amend a complaint seeking damages for “diminution of enterprise value” due to the alleged fraud.

Obtaining personal jurisdiction[1] over a defendant is a critical aspect of litigation.

In New York, as in most jurisdictions, statutes of limitation serve as a cutoff point for initiating legal action. In business litigation, parties often encounter statutes of limitation issues involving, inter alia, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud claims.

In today’s article, we examine BLDG 44 Developers LLC v. Pace Companies N.Y., LLC, a case involving consequential damages.

Today’s BLOG deals with the “Relation Back Doctrine” (the “Doctrine”), which, inter alia, “allows a claim asserted against a defendant in an amended filing to relate back to claims previously asserted against a codefendant for Statute of Limitations purposes where the two defendants are “‘united in interest.’"”

Today’s article relates to summary judgment in lieu of complaint pursuant to CPLR 3213

In Wilburger v. Ava Labs, Inc., 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 51072(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County July 3, 2025) (here), plaintiff sued defendant for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent inducement related to unpaid compensation for services rendered under an Independent Contractor Agreement.

In One River Run Acquisition, LLC v. Milde, 2025 N.Y. Slip Op. 03653 (1st Dept. June 17, 2025) (here), the Appellate Division, First Department reinstated counterclaims for fraud and fraudulent transfers after they had been dismissed at the motion court level.

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.

By: Jeffrey M. Haber After a merger, which agreement controls when both companies have pre-existing contracts with a common third party? In May 2016, Stamford-based Charter Communications Inc. (“Charter”) completed its acquisition of Time Warner Cable (“TWC”), making it the second largest cable provider behind Comcast Corporation. At the time of the acquisition, TWC was the larger of the two companies. As such, TWC was able to negotiate more favorable rates and terms on ca

By: Jeffrey M. Haber Is it a breach of contract to bypass an agreed-upon, independent alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) process and commence an arbitration proceeding elsewhere? When two companies enter into a contract, it’s common to include language wherein both parties consent to having any disputes related to the contract decided by an agreed-upon, neutral third party, rather than by a judge in a lengthy, formal court proceeding. The process of ADR-- which may be by