After a dispute arose over the ownership of the “Stargazer,” a six-thousand-year-old marble statuette, the Republic of Turkey commenced an action in the Southern District of New York seeking the return of Stargazer, alleging claims for conversion and replevin against auction house Christie’s, Inc., as the possessor, and Michael Steinhardt, as the owner. According to Turkey, the figurine was unlawfully excavated and smuggled out of its borders. Following an eight-day bench trial, the district court held that Turkey failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that it owned Stargazer, and that, in any event, the defendants established the equitable defense of laches. Turkey appealed… Read more
Arbitration Clause Does Not Apply When Consideration of Agreement Is Not Necessary to Determine the Merits of Claims
The Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) embodies a strong federal policy in favor of arbitration. When the existence of an arbitration agreement is undisputed, any doubts as to whether a claim falls within the scope of that agreement should be resolved in favor of arbitrability. Despite the broad reach of the FAA, a recent decision issued in Salgado v. NYC Medical Practice P.C. d/b/a Goals Aesthetics & Plastic Surgery, 22-CV-06910(LAK)(SN), 2022 WL 17974915 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 28, 2022) illustrates that claims may bypass arbitration if the agreement providing for arbitration need not be considered to determine if such claims are meritorious… Read more
Rescission of Contract Inappropriate Where Breach Did Not Defeat the Purpose of the Parties’ Agreement
In Argutto v. J.P. Hunter Co., Inc., Case No. 623638/2018 (Sup. Ct. Suffolk County, Sep. 22, 2022), the court denied a motion for summary judgment seeking rescission of a contract where the defendant’s breach, though consequential, was not so fundamental as to defeat the purpose of the contract… Read more
New York Choice of Law Provision, Standing Alone, Does Not Confer Personal Jurisdiction
As illustrated in a decision by the New York Supreme Court in Five Star Logistics LLC v. Innovasian Cuisine Enters. Inc., Index No. 653357/2022 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Nov. 22, 2022), a New York choice of law provision, standing alone, will not confer personal jurisdiction over a defendant… Read more
Summary Judgment in Lieu of Complaint Granted After Unopposed Showing of Default on Commercial Lease Guarantees
In 1619-1625 Amsterdam Avenue, LLC v. Costa Casvikes, Case No. 652037/2022 (July 7, 2022), the court granted an unopposed summary judgment in lieu of complaint to a plaintiff property owner seeking payment under two guarantees of a commercial lease… Read more
Conversion Claims Fail Where Duplicative of Breach of Contract Claims
In Westcon Grp., Inc. v. CCC Technologies, Inc., 7:19-cv-02303 (PMH) (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 12, 2022), the court granted summary judgment dismissing a conversion claim as duplicative of a cause of action for breach of contract… Read more
Petitioners Obtain Pre-Litigation Disclosure into the Owners of Twitter Accounts Used to Publish Defamatory Statements
Pre-action discovery is a specialized tool available in New York courts that can be used to preserve evidence or identify potential defendants. This tool was effectively used in DarkPulse, Inc. v. Twitter, Inc., Index No. 159015/2022, in New York Supreme Court, New York County… Read more
Claims Against International Cargo Broker Preempted by Montreal Convention
In A.S.A.P Logistics, Ltd. v. UPS Supply Chain Solutions, Inc., 20-CV-4553 (E.D.N.Y. Sep. 19, 2022), the court dismissed breach of contract and tort claims as preempted by the Montreal Convention… Read more
SDNY Awards Rule 11 Sanctions for Complaint over Speculative Allegations
In (RC) 2 Pharma Connect, LLC v. Mission Pharmacal Co., 1:21-cv-11096 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 14, 2022), the district court imposed Rule 11 sanctions against plaintiff for filing pleadings based on speculative allegations of breaches of contract… Read more
Extrinsic evidence is inadmissible to contradict unambiguous contract terms; a party cannot anticipatorily breach a contract obligation that does not exist
In Art Works Inc. v. Al-Hadid, Index No. 651267/2021 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. County, May 10 2022), the New York Supreme Court held that a consignment agreement did not give an art gallery an ownership interest in an artist’s consigned work. The court also held that a party’s insistence on agreement to terms for a mediation did not constitute anticipatory breach of the contract’s mediation provision… Read more
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