Justice Andrew Borrok

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On June 18, 2025, Justice Andrew Borrok of the Manhattan Commercial Division issued a post-trial decision in IGC 444 Park LLC et al. v. 444 PAS Restaurant Associates LLC et al., finding individual defendant David Moinian (“Moinian”) personally liable for defamation per se. The ruling arose from statements Moinian made accusing IGC 444 of taking kick-backs, an allegation the court found to be both false and damaging to IGC 444’s professional reputation.

Background

On July 16, 2017, plaintiff IGC 444 Park LLC (“IGC 444”) entered into a management agreement with defendant 444 PAS Restaurant Associates LLC (“444 PAS”) to operate food and beverage services at the Mondrian Park Avenue Hotel. David Moinian signed the agreement as managing member of 444 PAS.

Under the agreement, 444 PAS was obligated to, inter alia, maintain a $150,000 working capital account, sign and submit any checks and invoices prepared by IGC 444 for payment of expenses related to food and beverage operations, and pay a management fee to IGC 444.

On January 21, 2019, IGC 444 issued a notice of default to 444 PAS and Moinian, alleging repeated breaches of the management agreement, including failure to pay invoices, maintain the working capital balance, and pay management fees. When 444 PAS failed to cure these breaches, IGC 444 filed suit, asserting various causes of action, including breach of the management agreement and defamation against Moinian, both individually and in his capacity as managing member of 444 PAS.Continue Reading Defamation in Business Disputes: Executive Held Personally Liable for False Kick-Back Accusation

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Commercial transactions often involve parties from different states.  When a dispute arises between diverse parties, the question of whether a party can obtain personal jurisdiction over a defendant becomes critical.  This issue becomes even more apparent when the defendant is a foreign corporation that conducts business across the world.  In a recent decision from the…

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the Arco Acquisitions, LLC, v Tiffany Plaza LLC et al. decision, in which Suffolk County Commercial Division Justice Elizabeth Hazlitt Emerson held that the plaintiff’s fraud claims were barred by the specific disclaimer provisions contained in the parties’ agreement to purchase commercial real property.

A recent decision from…

Pursuant to Part 130 , attorneys are obligated to undertake an investigation of a case.  But is an attorney responsible for ignorance of facts which the client neglected to disclose?  “No,” says the Commercial Division.

In a recent decision by Justice Andrew Borrok, the Commercial Division discussed this very issue. In Morgan and Mendel …

“Reasonably anticipated litigation” is a necessary element you need to show to benefit from the common interest privilege in your attempt to withhold certain documents already shared with a third-party during a pending suit in New York – but, when does this privilege apply and what does “reasonably anticipated litigation” actually mean?

Recently, Justice Andrew…

Summons and Complaint  ✅

Service of Process ✅

Answer ✅

Discovery ☐

You now have to collect, review and produce documents pursuant to the preliminary conference order.  And so, in collecting documents from the various custodians, it appears some of the documents contain truly “irrelevant” material.  However, parts of the document are indeed responsive.  Can…

Undoubtedly, unsuspecting foreign corporations may find themselves having business connections in New York and subject to the jurisdiction of New York courts.

This blog post focuses on a recent decision by Hon. Andrew Borrock of the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court for New York County in Matter of Renren, Inc. Derivative

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