Statutes of limitations limit the time within which a defendant can be held liable for any type of alleged wrongdoing. Plaintiffs who do not pursue their rights within the limitations period will find the courthouse doors...more
10/28/2024
/ Breach of Duty ,
Damages ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Liability ,
Partnerships ,
Repudiation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Tax Returns ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
Willful Misconduct
In Seitz v. Marcum LLP, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 51141(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Aug. 30, 2024) (here), Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division addressed the doctrine of in pari delicto, which “bars a...more
9/17/2024
/ Accountant Malpractice ,
Affirmative Defenses ,
Audits ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
DEA ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
In Pari Delicto ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Negligence ,
Popular ,
Professional Liability ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Unjust Enrichment
In Villaver v. Paglinawan, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 04159 (2d Dept. Aug. 7, 2024) (here), the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the dismissal of a legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, and intentional infliction...more
“A third-party beneficiary … is a person or entity that receives benefits from a contract between two other parties, even though they are not a party to the contract.” The concept of a third-party beneficiary stems from the...more
It is well-settled that leave to amend a pleading is to be freely granted. Leave may be denied, however, if the proposed amendment is palpably insufficient or patently devoid of merit, or if it would cause undue prejudice to...more
The Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, also known as the “BSA,” enacted in 1970, established requirements for record-keeping and reporting by banks and other financial institutions. The BSA is designed to, among...more
7/16/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banks ,
BSA/AML ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investors ,
Misleading Statements ,
Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) of 1986 ,
Patriot Act ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) ,
U.S. Treasury
Arbitration is an alternative form of dispute resolution where the parties voluntarily agree that a neutral person will resolve any legal disputes between them, instead of a judge or jury in a court of law. It is encouraged...more
To state a cause of action for fraud, a plaintiff must allege “a material misrepresentation of a fact, knowledge of its falsity, an intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance by the plaintiff and damages.” The...more
6/3/2024
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
CPLR ,
Damages ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Gross Negligence ,
Justifiable Reliance ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Misrepresentation ,
New York ,
Scienter
The foundation of virtually every business and commercial transaction is a contract. It is difficult to imagine a transaction for the purchase or sale of goods, the merger or acquisition of a business, or the provision of...more
By: Jeffrey M. Haber On many occasions, we have written about Ponzi schemes that have been the subject of enforcement actions brought by, and/or settlements with, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the...more
4/2/2024
/ Asset Freeze ,
Civil Penalty Fund ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Exchanges ,
Fraud ,
Freezing Order ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
It is not often that we examine a case involving the doctrine of champerty. The last time we did so was on March 8, 2023 (here). We also examined the champerty doctrine in 2021 (here), 2020 (here), and 2016 (here)....more
4/1/2024
/ Asset Purchaser ,
Bonds ,
Certifications ,
Champerty ,
Commercial Bank Accounts ,
Fraud ,
Liquidation ,
Loans ,
Luxembourg ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgage-Backed Securities ,
Negligence ,
New York ,
Private Right of Action ,
Promissory Notes ,
Special Purpose Vehicles
It should go without saying that people make mistakes. After all, people are human, and humans make mistakes.
When people draft a document, especially a lengthy or complex one, it is not uncommon for a mistake to be...more
3/11/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Clerical Errors ,
Contract Drafting ,
Contract Terms ,
Fraud ,
Lenders ,
Loan Agreements ,
Loan Documentation ,
Mistake ,
Personal Liability ,
Presumption of Validity ,
Promissory Notes ,
Reformation
A common theme in commercial litigation is the assertion of a breach of contract claim and a fraudulent inducement claim. A plaintiff claiming a breach of contract must show (1) the existence of a contract; (2) the...more
In past articles, we have examined a motion under CPLR § 3213... CPLR § 3213 is a procedural mechanism that allows a party to make a motion for summary judgment before filing a complaint in actions based upon “an instrument...more
In today’s article, we examine Eva Chen Fine Jewelry, Inc. v. Recovery Racing IX, LLC, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 06511 (2d Dept. Dec. 20, 2023) (here), a case involving common law fraud, New York’s lemon law and Section 349 of New...more
As readers of this Blog know, we often write about the pleading requirements under the Civil Practice Law and Rules (“CPLR”). In that regard, many of our articles involve cases in which CPLR 3016(b) is at issue – the...more
12/18/2023
/ Breach of Contract ,
Business Disparagement ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) ,
CPLR ,
Defamation ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Insubordination Policy ,
Libel ,
Reasonable Particularity Requirement ,
Slander
By: Jeffrey M. Haber In TD Bank, N.A. v. Keenan, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 06158 (2d Dept. Nov. 29, 2023) (here), the Appellate Division, Second Department examined the often “nettlesome” question of whether a plaintiff claiming...more
12/14/2023
/ Breach of Contract ,
Default ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreclosure ,
Fraud ,
HELOC ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgages ,
Objective Falsity ,
Omissions ,
Reasonable Reliance Claims ,
Title Insurance ,
Unjust Enrichment ,
Verification Requirements
It should come as no surprise that one of the goals of an investment fraud is the theft of customer funds for the scammer’s personal benefit. In legal parlance, this aspect of a fraudulent investment scheme is called...more
12/11/2023
/ Asset Management ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Client Funds ,
Disgorgement ,
Embezzlement ,
Enforcement ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Investment Fraud ,
Misappropriation ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Price Manipulation ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In Stagen v. Neu, 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 06105 (1st Dept. Nov. 28, 2023), the Appellate Division, First Department addressed an issue of contract interpretation involving a word in a settlement agreement that most readers would...more
As we have often explained in the articles in which we have examined fraud claims, to withstand a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must plead fraud with particularity as required under CPLR § 3106(b), cannot lump all the...more
In July of this year, we wrote about a fraud action involving the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (“EB-5 Program” or “Program”) (here). Under the EB-5 Program, investors are eligible for permanent residency status in the U.S....more
11/29/2023
/ EB-5 ,
Enforcement ,
False Statements ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Fraud ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Immigrant Investor Program ,
Misleading Statements ,
Permanent Residence Cards ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Unregistered Brokers ,
Unregistered Securities ,
USCIS ,
Willful Misconduct
A couple of months ago, we examined NW Media Holdings Corp. v. IBT Media Inc., 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 30875(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Mar. 22, 2023) (here), a case in which a lower court addressed the question whether the...more
10/31/2023
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Constructive Trusts ,
Conversion ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Data Deletion ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraudulent Inducement ,
Google ,
Merger Clause ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Promissory Estoppel ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Shareholder Votes ,
Trespass to Chattel ,
Written Agreements
Affinity fraud is a type of investment fraud. In this form of fraud, the person committing the fraud preys upon members of an identifiable group, such as a religious or ethnic community, the elderly, or a professional group....more
10/25/2023
/ Asset Freeze ,
Enforcement ,
False Advertising ,
Fraud ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Fraud ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Pyramid Schemes ,
Restraining Orders ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
“A” brings an action against “B”. The causes of action asserted against “B” are all timely for statute of limitations purposes.
Following discovery, “A” learns that “C” played a material role in the facts and...more
We have often written about the SEC’s whistleblower program and, in particular, the success of the program with respect to detecting and preventing violations of the federal securities laws. The success of the program...more
10/10/2023
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Severance Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers