When embarking on litigation, a common question clients ask is: Can I recover my attorneys’ fees? Short of a contractual fee-shifting provision, the answer is almost invariably, “No.” A potentially valuable exception exists, however, in New York insurance coverage cases. The Defensive Posture Exception In New York, the “defensive posture” […]
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A motion for summary judgment in lieu of a complaint under CPLR 3213 is a powerful tool in a New York litigator’s arsenal. Clients seeking to recover on a promissory note or similar instrument “for the payment of money only” can bypass expensive, time-consuming pleading and discovery stages and file a motion […]
As litigators, we not only represent our clients in court, we counsel them on litigation risk mitigation. In that capacity, we are often asked to review proposed commercial contracts for potential pitfalls from a litigator’s perspective. It can be difficult to convince clients of the importance of well-drafted provisions on […]
Filing for bankruptcy often brings pending litigation to a screeching halt as supreme and district court judges are loathed to interfere with the automatic bankruptcy stay. For a party looking to slow play litigation, bankruptcy can be a boon, but in multi-party litigation you are trying to advance, it can […]
The doctrine of res judicata, or claim preclusion, can be a powerful defense when attempting a second bite at the proverbial apple; it precludes a litigant from rehashing a claim with the same parties that was decided on the merits in a prior proceeding. Ordinarily, res judicata even applies when a party fails […]