If a commercial lease guaranty contains a jury trial waiver but the lease does not, is the jury trial waived for all parties (i.e., tenant and guarantor) or just the guarantor? In a recent case, Pierre's Caribbean Cuisine LLC...more
A federal court in New Jersey recently granted summary judgment against the guarantor of a hotel franchise agreement, requiring him to pay contractual post-termination damages. Ramada Worldwide Inc. v. Keys Hosp., LLC, 2024...more
While landlords prefer tenants with the strongest financial positions to sign leases, they may sometimes accept a “shell” entity — created solely to operate the business at the leased premises — provided that an upper-tier...more
A federal court in Illinois recently denied cross motions for partial summary judgment as to franchisor 360 Painting, LLC’s claims for breach of contract by painting franchisee R. Sterling Enterprises, Inc. (RSE), and breach...more
The scenario is fairly common. A bank makes a loan to a business. The owners of the business guarantee the loan. The business defaults. The owners blame each other for the failure of the business. When the bank demands...more
On September 6, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s decision rejecting borrower defendants’ usury defense on grounds of waiver and collateral estoppel. The lender,...more
Late last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held in Regions Bank v. Legal Outsource PA, No. 17-11736, 2019 WL 4051703 (11th Cir. Aug 28, 2019), that a loan guarantor does not qualify as an “applicant”...more
Is a personal guaranty a separate agreement from the underlying contract it guarantees? The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently considered this issue in Friday Investments, LLC v. Bally Total Fitness of the...more
If you can’t locate a party and personally serve him, you can follow the less-known method of service, called substitute service. Once you have filed your complaint seeking damages for breach of a lease or guaranty, you are...more
Believe it or not, lenders can breach loan agreements too…and when they do, there can be significant consequences. In Great Western Bank v. LJC Dev., LLC, 726 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 21 (Ariz. Ct. App. Nov. 10, 2015), the Court of...more
Lender liability claims generally arise in one of following contexts: (i) claims seeking recovery of damage or "leverage" to accept discounted payoffs; (ii) counterclaims to foreclosure/receivership/guarantor actions; or...more