When employees speak to in-house counsel, it is often assumed that the information is protected by the attorney-client privilege. However, as demonstrated in a recent decision in a New York federal district court, not all communications between in-house counsel and company employees are...
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“All For One and One For All” – Application of Joint Privilege
Sep 16, 2021 | Case Study
When preparing a legal opinion which could apply to more than one entity with a joint interest, a good phrase for attorneys to keep in mind is “All for one, and one for all!” In a recent decision from the New York Supreme Court in a billion-dollar case, a plaintiff was able to...
Waiving the Right to Terminate a Contract
Aug 18, 2021 | Case Study
Waiver is the relinquishment of a known right. Sometimes waiver is explicit. Sometimes, however, waiver results from a party sitting on a breach of contract for years and not treating it as a deal-breaker until it is looking for an excuse to terminate that contract. This sort of bad...
Why You Should Be Careful Signing a Release of Claims
Aug 10, 2021 | Insights
When parties are ending a business arrangement, it is common for one side to be asked to sign a release of all present and future claims against the other party. Such releases are contracts and challenging them is always an uphill battle, even where a party is asserting fraud in the...
Attorneys and Litigants Beware – Making Assumptions Can Ruin Your Case and Get You Held in Contempt
Jun 16, 2021 | Breach of Contract, Case Study, Insights
The old adage “when you assume…” has particular significance for attorneys during litigation. In the recent decision in Iacovacci v. Brevet Holdings LLC, (Suffolk Supreme Index No. 158735/2016), assumptions and poor communications between an attorney and clients nearly cost the...
Unreasonable Reliance is Fatal to a Fraud Claim
May 26, 2021 | Insights
When a plaintiff sues for fraud, New York’s Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) requires that the complaint provide sufficient facts to support the claim. CPLR § 3016(b) states that “the circumstances constituting the wrong shall be stated in detail.” This is important because if...