In almost any setting, when a borrower fails to pay a mortgage, the lender will issue a letter accelerating the entire amount owed notwithstanding that the terms of the mortgage only require monthly payments. That letter informs the borrower of the default and demands full payment of the amount outstanding.…
After defendant defaulted on a $1.3 million mortgage and note, the bank foreclosed. Despite the appointment of a receiver, during the pendency of the foreclosure action, the bank incurred a host of expenses. One of those was $40,000 for marketing commissions to a real estate marketing company. After the auction,…
Defendant failed to complete eight bridesmaids dresses until two hours after the ceremony was scheduled to begin, when they were delivered by the groom. As a result of this delay, plaintiff incurred a host of delays for which she incurred expenses, including a delay in the bride’s appearance from the…
After writing about the “haunted house” case recently, I came across another case that addressed the same concepts, and also in an unusual setting. The haunted house court had decided that because the buyer could not have anticipated that the house under contract was haunted, and was therefore not expected…
A musician’s laptop, loaded with valuable proprietary information, was stolen while he was on tour in Germany. A reward was offered, initially set at $20,000, but later raised to $1 million. The plaintiff found the laptop and returned it, but the reward was not paid because the hard drive had…
The last time we wrote on this topic, a group of plaintiffs’ had their $900 million claim thrown out by a judge, essentially because the plaintiffs had stuck their head in the sand and did not investigate red flags evident in a transaction. In Pappas v. Tzolis, it was a…
I found this case while researching a potential litigation. While it is not a new decision, it presents a rather unusual set of facts. A property buyer is charged with acting diligently in inspecting a property that is being considered for purchase. Because a property is purchased “as is,” a…
Plaintiff sought to recover from a corporation and its shareholders a total of $106,000 based on a $15,000 loan. Defendants denied liability and raised usury as an additional defense. Both sides moved for summary judgment, the plaintiff on the note and the defendants on their defense of usury. In opposition…
Towbin v. Towbin reminds us that one cannot be compelled to give someone a gift. The facts here involve a son’s attempt to compel his parents to complete the transaction of giving a trust he controlled a valuable apartment which his parents owned and in which they lived. The lawsuit…
A recent decision by Senior Judge Jack B. Weinstein in United States of America v. DiCristina dismissed claims against the defendant because the gambling complained of did not violate the Illegal Gambling Business Act. Read some important highlights here For a discussion about permitted sweepstakes vs. illegal gambling, have a…