In the case of Truist Equipment Finance Corp. v. Tebele, 2025 NY Slip Op 35031(U), the New York court held that a forbearance agreement, entered into between a lender and a borrower regarding the borrower's pre-existing loan, did not transform the Guaranty (personal guarantee) into an instrument outside the scope of...
Category: Business Transactions
M&A intermediaries . . . beware of time bombs hiding in confidentiality clauses in Seller/Target company contracts
In AriZona Beverages USA, LLC v. Evercore, Inc., (Sup. Ct., Nassau Cnty,. Aug. 27, 2024) (Index #608480/2024), the Court held that a merger and acquisitions intermediary (which was acting as a broker between a prospective seller and prospective buyers) breached a confidentiality clause that was in a contract between the seller...
Promissory Notes and Personal Guaranties – “magic words” satisfy expedited collection under CPLR 3213
One of the benefits of being owed money under a promissory note (and, when applicable, a personal guaranty(ee)), in contrast to being owed money under an ordinary contract, is that the lender can qualify for an expedited procedure for collecting the debt under CPLR 3213. To qualify for CPLR 3213, the instrument...
“Willful misconduct”– a commonly used term in contracts does not mean what you think it means
In Manhattan Chrystie St. Dev. Fund LLC v. Witkoff Group LLC (2023 NY Slip Op 50622(U), 2023 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3056), a New York trial court analyzed the meaning of the term "willful misconduct" in a commercial contract (specifically, a guaranty) governed by Delaware law.
The trial court generally...
$175M suit accuses BigLaw firm of ‘critical drafting errors’ and ‘sloppy and imprecise’ contract language (ABA re-print)
https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/175m-suit-accuses-biglaw-firm-of-critical-drafting-errors-and-sloppy-and-imprecise-contract-language
Blog Series: An Ounce of Precision in Contracts – Dispute Resolution
***This blog posting is one in a series that we anticipate posting specifically regarding the importance of spending additional time to carefully review and to write--with precision--the various clauses in business documents in general, and specifically in contracts.***
In FFS Data Corp. v. The OLB...
Lack of Due Diligence and Awareness of Risks Irrelevant if Claim is for Fraudulent Inducement
In BRL Hampton Rd. LLC v Ashley Heather, et. al., 2022 NY Slip Op 30039(U), the Court granted summary judgment against the party that defaulted on a construction loan even though the lender failed to conduct due diligence, was aware of the risks with a startup, and was the one who offered...
How Startups and Emerging Companies can Effectively Utilize Options to Attract and Retain Talent
Hyperlink to the following URL for the full article:
https://businesslawtoday.org/2021/07/stocked-up-how-startups-and-emerging-companies-can-effectively-utilize-options-to-attract-and-retain-talent/
De Facto Merger: The Threat of Unexpected Successor Liability
Click here to be linked to the contents of this article.
Broker Must be the “Procuring Cause” of the Sale to be entitled to Sale Commission.
In Capin & Assoc., Inc. v. Herskovitz, 2021 NY Slip Op. 03249, the Court held that a broker was not entitled to a sales commission because Defendant used another brokerage firm to make an offer, enter into negotiations, conduct due diligence, and close the transaction. Accordingly, the Plaintiff...