“Read before you sign”, is what we counsel our clients, since we all know that courts will bind one contractually to a signed agreement even if not read. But, what if you never signed the agreement? Can you still be bound by it? In earlier blogs — here and here — we addressed this very
It works the same way in small businesses as it does in major investment firms: the executives reach agreement on the terms of a deal, then leave the lawyers to paper things accordingly. But sometimes the papered deal differs from the agreement the parties actually reached, and neither side notices the differences until long after
Not all agreements need to be in writing to be enforced. Indeed, unless there is an applicable Statute of Frauds, oral agreements are enforceable. But what if the parties to an agreement — a formal contract — don’t sign? Is it enforceable? Maybe.
We last wrote about a case enforcing an unsigned agreement in
In a recent decision in Inferno Restaurant & Pizzeria, Inc. v SW Michaels Pizzeria, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 50995(U) (June 13, 2019), the Supreme Court, Albany County, found that where a defendant knew of a plaintiff’s material breaches of a contract and failed to timely notify the plaintiff of these material breaches,
Are “consequential damages” available on contract claim against an insurer in an action brought by an insured for breach of a commercial liability policy? In D.K. Prop., Inc. v. National Union Fire Ins., a recent case out of the First Department, the answer is a resounding “yes”. There, the complaint alleged two causes of
Your client wants to recover damages f
or breach of contract and demands that you assert as many causes of action as possible. In addition to the breach cause of action, you consider a declaratory judgment claim, right? Wrong! The Second Department has held time and time again that “[a] cause of action for a
I made two observations coming out of Grand Central Station during my morning commute last week. First, the city really stinks after a string of oppressively hot and humid summer days. Second, there appears to be a temporary taxi stand, perhaps occasioned by the ongoing construction of the new One Vanderbilt building, just outside
In commercial litigation, it is not at all unusual for courts to be called upon to determine whether an unsigned agreement is binding. The federal courts have a long line of cases dealing with this very issue, and perhaps the seminal one in this area is the Second Circuit’s decision in Winston v Mediafare Enter.
In a recent Commercial Division decision, Pozner v Fox Broadcasting Company, (2018 NY Slip Op 28102 [Sup Ct, NY County Apr. 2, 2018]), Justice Saliann Scarpulla declined to extend the application of the faithless servant doctrine to a circumstance where no New York court has applied it before.
Cliff Pozner (“Pozner”), a former
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