Obligations reduced to a promissory note are often accompanied by a written guaranty. The law treats the guaranty as an independent obligation. A case recently decided by California’s First District Court of Appeal —...more
Recently, two important court decisions ruled that a New York City local law known as the Guaranty Law, which rendered unenforceable certain guaranties of commercial lease obligations, was unconstitutional. One month later,...more
You signed a deal with the US subsidiary of an India-based service provider, and the Indian parent issued a guaranty. Several years later, you are now amending the original master services agreement (MSA) to add to the scope...more
Real Property Update - Restrictive Covenants: trial court erred by failing to provide injunctive relief in favor of homeowner as it related to trees planted in common area in violation of restrictive covenants - McIntosh...more
A common theme of the cases and issues discussed in this blog is that document drafting is at the root of many commercial real estate disputes....more
It has been said that a guarantor is a fool with a pen. Even the Bible warns, "whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to shake hands in pledge is safe." Proverbs 11:15, NIV. That...more
If you are contemplating agreeing to execute a good guy guaranty, you must both be in control and be totally immune from being fired. Otherwise...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently upheld summary judgment in favor of a lender, dismissing an action by the borrowers’ spouses alleging that the lender’s requirement that the spouses sign guaranties...more
On June 13, 2014, the Texas Supreme Court conclusively resolved the issue of whether a guarantor may generally waive his/her/its statutory right of offset under Section 51.003 of the Texas Property Code. In Moayedi v....more
The “sham guaranty” defense may absolve a guarantor of liability when no deficiency is available against the borrower, and the guarantor is really the borrower with a different name. In California Bank and Trust v. Lawler...more