Civil And Commercial Litigation
What Does A Commercial Litigation Attorney Do?
A commercial litigation attorney represents clients in civil and commercial matters, including breach of contract actions, business torts cases, bankruptcy and adversary proceedings, civil racketeering actions, business dissolution proceedings and other corporate litigation, product liability cases, franchisor-franchisee litigation, qui tam actions, proceedings to enforce money judgments, divorce actions and post-divorce judgment proceedings.
Manhattan Causes Of Action
In business litigation in the New York state courts and in federal courts situated in Manhattan, NY, some of the claims which companies and individuals frequently bring are as follows. At the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC, we have substantial experience litigating, on behalf of entities and individuals, these claims and many others.
Account Stated: To state a claim for an account stated, the plaintiff must plead that: (1) an account was presented, (2) it was accepted as correct, and (3) the debtor promised to pay the amount stated.
Breach Of Contract: The elements of a cause of action for breach of contract are (1) formation of a contract between plaintiff and defendant, (2) performance by plaintiff, (3) defendant’s failure to perform, (4) resulting damage.
Breach Of Fiduciary Duty: A fiduciary relationship exists between an agent and principal, signifying a relationship of trust and confidence whereby the agent is bound to exercise the utmost good faith and undivided loyalty toward the principal throughout the relationship.
Breach Of Implied Covenant Of Good Faith And Fair Dealing: In every contract is an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The covenant is breached when a party acts in a manner that deprives the other party of the right to receive benefits under the agreement. The covenant encompasses any promises which a reasonable person in the position of the promisee would be justified in understanding were included.
Civil RICO: To maintain a claim under section 1962(c) of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), a plaintiff must allege: (1) conduct (2) of an enterprise (3) through a pattern (4) of racketeering activity. RICO defines “racketeering activity” as behavior that violates certain other laws, either enumerated federal statutes or state laws addressing specified topics and bearing specified penalties. Among the many federal statutes the violation of which constitutes racketeering activity are 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (relating to mail fraud) and 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (relating to wire fraud).
In order to properly plead a pattern of racketeering activity, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant committed at least two predicate acts, and that the alleged predicate acts related to each other and amount to, or otherwise constitute a threat of, continuing racketeering activity.
State courts enjoy concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts over civil claims brought under RICO.
Conversion: The elements of conversion are (1) intent, (2) interference to the exclusion of the owner’s rights, and (3) possession, or the right to possession in plaintiff.
Fraud: In an action to recover for fraud, the plaintiff must prove a misrepresentation or a material omission of fact which was false and known to be false by defendant, made for the purpose of inducing the other party to rely upon it, justifiable reliance of the other party on the misrepresentation or material omission, and injury.
General Business Law § 349: Section 349(a) of the New York General Business Law declares as unlawful “[d]eceptive acts and practices in the conduct of any business, trade or commerce or in the furnishing of any service in this state.” A prima facie case under that statute requires a showing that the defendant’s acts are directed to consumers, that defendant is engaging in an act or practice that is deceptive or misleading in a material way, and that plaintiff has been injured by reason thereof.
Interference With Contract: The elements of the tort of interference with contract are (1) existence of a valid contract, (2) defendant’s knowledge of that contract, (3) defendant’s intentional procuring of the breach, and (4) damages.
Interference With Prospective Advantage: The elements of interference with prospective advantage are (1) the defendant must have known of the proposed contract between the plaintiff and the other party, (2) the defendant must have intentionally interfered with the proposed contract, (3) the proposed contract would have been entered into but for the defendant’s interference, (4) the defendant’s interference was done by wrongful means, and (5) the plaintiff suffered damage as a result.
Negligent Misrepresentation: The criteria for liability for negligent misrepresentation are: (1) awareness that the statement was to be used for a particular purpose or purposes; (2) reliance by a known party or parties in furtherance of that purpose; and (3) some conduct by the defendants linking them to the plaintiffs and evincing defendants’ awareness of their reliance.
Quantum Meruit: In order to make out a claim in quantum meruit, plaintiff must establish (1) the performance of the services in good faith, (2) the acceptance of the services by the person to whom they are rendered, (3) an expectation of compensation, and (4) the reasonable value of the services.
Unjust Enrichment: An action for restitution based on unjust enrichment requires that (1) the defendant received money, property or services belonging to or provided by the plaintiff, (2) the defendant benefited from the receipt of the money, property or services, and (3) under principles of equity and good conscience, the defendant should not be permitted to retain the money or property or should be required to pay for the services.
If your company wants to bring, or needs a law firm to defend it in, business litigation, contact the Law Offices of David S. Rich, LLC.
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