“If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” This saying best describes the duplication of claims doctrine that this Blog often writes about – that is, the doctrine whereby a fraud claim will duplicate a contract claim when “the only fraud alleged is that the defendant was not sincere when it promised to perform under the contract.” Mañas v. VMS Assoc., LLC , 53 A.D.3d 451, 453 (1st Dept. 2008) (quoting First Bank of Ams. v

Less than three weeks ago, this Blog wrote about an enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or the “Commission) against Zachary Horwitz, a.k.a. Zach Avery, a Los Angeles-based actor known for low budget features such as “Trespassers” and “The White Crow”, and his company 1inMM (one in a million) Capital, LLC, for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that raised over $690 million ( here ). As discussed in the article, the scheme had two componen

Judiciary Law 470 , which, in its present form, was passed in 1909, but has its origins to the time when President Lincoln was in office, provides: A person, regularly admitted to practice as an attorney and counsellor, in the courts of record of this state, whose office for the transaction of law business is within the state, may practice as such attorney or counsellor, although he resides in an adjoining state. This Blog has addresses Judiciary Law 470 < HERE =">HERE</a>">

Under New York law, a party’s performance may be excused, even if the contract contains no express provision for the event that made performance impossible. See , e.g. , City of New York v. Local 333, Mar. Div., Intl. Longshoremen’s Assn. , 79 A.D.2d 410 (1st Dept. 1981). To determine whether performance may be excused, the court takes a wholistic approach, considering the facts and circumstances surrounding the non-performance and the roles, if any, the parties played in sai

In today’s installment of Enforcement News, this Blog examines, among other things, the fiduciary duties of investment advisers, in particular, the duty of loyalty. An investment adviser is a fiduciary, and as such is held to the highest standard of conduct and must act in the best interest of his/her client. SEC v. Capital Gains Research Bureau, Inc. , 375 U.S. 180, 194 (1963). This means, among other things, that an investment adviser has an affirmative duty of utmost good

Most simply stated, champerty is the prohibited practice of purchasing claims for the purpose of commencing litigation and has been described as “a venerable doctrine developed hundreds of years ago to prevent or curtail the commercialization of or trading in litigation.”  Bluebird Partners, L.P. v. First Fidelity Bank, N.A. , 94 N.Y.2d 726, 729 (2000) (describing the historical antecedents to New York’s present champerty rules).  While an ages old doctrine dating back to med

A “recurring question” New York courts grapple with is whether the facts alleged in a complaint give rise to claims for both breach of contract and fraudulent inducement. Cronos Grp. v. XComIP, LLC , 156 A.D.3d 54, 56 (1st Dept. 2017). Readers of this Blog know that a fraud claim, which “ar from the same facts , s identical damages and d not allege a breach of any duty collateral to or independent of the parties’ agreements<,> is subject to dismissal as redundant of the c

When a person releases another from claims or the threat of claims, he/she is giving up the right to sue the other in connection with the subject of the release. Centro Empresarial Cempresa S.A. v América Móvil, S.A.B. de C.V. , 17 N.Y.3d 269, 276 (2011) (“Generally, a valid release constitutes a complete bar to an action on a claim which is the subject of the release.”). A release effectively eliminates all claims against another that are possessed by the party giving the re

It has been over 100 years since Charles Ponzi was indicted for the fraudulent scheme that bears his name. In a Ponzi scheme, the operator creates an investment program in which “profits” are paid to earlier investors with money taken from later investors. The “profits” are, therefore, fictitious instead of returns on investment. Ultimately, Ponzi schemes collapse under their own weight, taking investors, many of whom are the later ones in the scheme, down with them. Unfortun