Reflecting on your first year of law school, you begrudgingly remember learning about personal jurisdiction and the long-arm statute. As a commercial litigator, one of your first questions in representing a defendant should be: Does this court have jurisdiction over my client? If the answer to that question is no, then of course, you
Are There Heightened Pleading Requirements When Alleging Consequential Damages Against an Insurer in a Coverage Dispute? “No”, Says the First Department
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
“Unnecessary and Inappropriate”: The declaration no one wanted
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
Universal Obtains More Than It Bargained For in Dealings with Cash Money Records: Potential Liability for Unpaid Drake Profits
For those unfamiliar with what today’s young kids are listening to, Aubrey “Drake” Graham is one of the most commercially-successful recording artists of all time, with multiple multiple-platinum records to his credit. For frame of reference, Drake’s recent album “Scorpion,” on its first day of release, was streamed over 300 million times on Apple Music
Treasury Secretary Escapes Fraud Claims
On June 5, 2018, in RKA Film Financing, LLC v. Kavanaugh et al., the First Department unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court, New York County’s decision absolving the United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, of fraud claims brought by RKA Film Financing LLC (“RKA”), a media financing company.
By way of
Fugitive Tycoon Guo Wengui, Seeking Asylum in United States, Denied Protection from Creditors’ New York Lawyers
In 2015, Guo Wengui, a/k/a Kwok Ho Wan, a Chinese citizen, billionaire investor and political provocateur, fled China for the United States amid reported investigations by the Chinese government involving several of his businesses and business partners. Mr. Guo reportedly left behind approximately $17 billion in Chinese assets, which have been frozen. Despite living
To Demand or Not Demand, “Futility” is the Question
Under Delaware law, the decision to commence litigation on behalf of a corporation is, of course, a fundamental exercise of business judgment, which decision rests with the Board of Directors. A shareholder, therefore, cannot bring a derivative action without pleading that a demand on the corporation to do so had been made, or that
Don’t Forget To Calendar Your Deadlines – Especially The Statutory Ones!
If you commence an action by way of summons with notice, you must bear in mind the strict time limitations imposed by CPLR 3012(b). When the other party timely serves a written demand for a complaint, you have exactly twenty (20) days from service of the demand to serve the complaint. This is a strict,