In a legal malpractice claim brought by Plaintiff, an Australian investment bank against Morrison & Foester, claiming that the law firm did not conduct due diligence in uncovering material misrepresentations pertaining to Plaintiff’s underwriting of a public stock offering of Puda Coal, Inc., Justice Scarpulla, in the New York County Supreme Court (Index No.: 650988/15)
Separate Duty to Notify Revives Untimely Subprime Mortgage Claims
In a thorough opinion last week by Justice Marcy Friedman in Bank of N.Y. Mellon v WMC Mtge., LLC, the New York County Supreme Court upheld the timeliness of “Failure to Notify” claims arising from subprime mortgage-backed securities formed into a trust in 2007. To put it mildly, the mortgages were problematic (go see…
When Is A Fraud Claim Duplicative Of A Breach Of Contract Claim?
Generally speaking, a fraud claim that is “duplicative” of a breach of contract claim will be dismissed. But when is a fraud claim sufficiently duplicative of a breach of contract claim so as to warrant its dismissal? The New York County Commercial Division (Sherwood, J.) recently answered this question in xLon Beauty, LLC v Day…
Another Stern Reminder re: Judiciary Law § 470 is Alive and Well
Frequent readers of this blog may recall my post from the end of last year in which I highlighted a decision of the Appellate Division, First Department affirming a decision of New York County Commercial Division Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich, that examined the application of Judiciary Law § 470. For those needing a refresher, Judiciary…
Check the Rules Part V – Motion and Pre-Trial Practice in Kings County and Other Helpful Resources
For the fifth installment of this blog’s ongoing “Check the Rules” series, we feature the individual practice or part rules of the Justices of the Kings County Commercial Division, particularly those recently instituted by Hon. Sylvia G. Ash.
As hyperlinked within any number of past posts on this blog, the Commercial Division’s official webpage…
When Does Intentional Wrongdoing Render a “Limitation of Liability” Clause Unenforceable?
That was the issue presented to the Appellate Division, First Department in Electron Trading, LLC v. Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, which was an appeal from the grant of defendant’s motion to dismiss a contractual claim seeking damages above the amount allowable under the contract’s limitation of liability clause. Justice Saliann Scarpulla granted defendant’s…
State of Our Judiciary Address Announces E-Filing Rules for Appellate Divisions Affecting Commercial Cases
Chief Judge Janet DiFiore announced on Tuesday (February 6) in her State of Our Judiciary Address, that the Appellate Divisions in all four Departments will be rolling out electronic filing rules for certain cases. Of particular interest to commercial litigators is the First and Fourth Departments, in which the rule announcement specifically identifies commercial…
Not All “Repeated Discovery Failures” Lead to the Striking of a Pleading
So you entered into a Preliminary Conference and a Compliance Conference Order with your adversary whereby the parties have to exchange discovery by dates certain. The purpose of these orders is to save parties a significant amount of time and money and to move along litigation. However, when a party repeatedly fails to comply with…
Content Developer Attempts to Tag MLB with Conversion: “Safe,” Rules Justice Kornreich
Have you ever had a brilliant business idea, only to discover years later that someone else has beaten you to market? If you are a professional athlete, you might break your hand punching a fire extinguisher or picture frame in frustration. If you are a web developer, you might indignantly exclaim, “They literally stole…
Which Statute of Limitations Applies to Your Declaratory Judgment Action?
So your client wants you to file a declaratory judgment action, but you are unsure of whether the applicable statute of limitations has expired. But what is the applicable statute of limitations in a declaratory judgment action? Since there is no limitations period specifically addressed to the declaratory judgment action, it generally falls under the…