Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 95: Listen and Learn -- Promissory Estoppel
Law School Toolbox Podcast Episode 245: Listen and Learn -- Promissory Estoppel
Peter Sluka wrote a month ago about Matter of Lin v Sun ___ AD3d ___ (2026 NY Slip Op 02065 [1st Dept Apr. 7, 2026]). In Lin, the First Department unanimously rejected a petitioner-appellant’s claim she acquired standing to...more
A New York State Supreme Court judge has ordered the restitution of “Seated Man with a Cane” (1918) by Amedeo Modigliani to the heirs of Oscar Stettiner, a Jewish art dealer who fled Paris in 1939 as Nazi forces advanced,...more
In Pack Private Capital, LLC v. Associated Bank, N.A., 155 F.4th 981 (8th Cir. 2025), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that an oral modification of a subordination agreement was barred by the statute of...more
Most legally enforceable contracts are formed the old-fashioned way: offer and acceptance. Courts will sometimes enforce promises without traditional offer and acceptance where one party has justifiably relied on the other...more
The decision in Rose v Manno Kingsway Pty Ltd (2025) 116 NSWLR 598; [2025] NSWCA 23(Bell CJ, Mitchelmore and Adamson JJA) has confirmed that although the advance of consideration chronologically before the execution of a...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of an insurance carrier regarding a coverage dispute over the replacement cost of a building....more
The PPE Medpro case has been widely reported. But the coverage has not focused, as we do, on the contractual interpretation, estoppel, and mitigation angles....more
In Behler v. Kai-Shing Tao, the New York Court of Appeals found that the merger clause contained in a limited liability company agreement governed by Delaware law superseded an alleged prior oral agreement between the...more
A federal court in California recently granted a manufacturer’s motion to dismiss a distributor’s oral contract claims, but declined to dismiss claims for promissory estoppel and unjust enrichment. Cosmonova, LLC v. BioFilm,...more
The US District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Manalapan Surgery Ctr., et al. v. 1199 SEIU National Benefit Fund, No. 23-CV-03525 (EDNY March 12, 2025), recently granted a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by...more
A United States District Court (N.D. Ohio) (“Court”) in an October 14th Order addressed a dispute arising out of a Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement (“NDA”) and Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) involving two...more
In the last few weeks, the PTAB has granted institution of eight IPRs filed by Merck on Johns Hopkins patents directed to methods of treatment using pembrolizumab. The eight patents are generally directed to methods...more
A franchisor may pursue claims for declaratory and injunctive relief for potential trademark infringement against a former prospective franchisee even though the prospect never actually used the marks in question. Grainier...more
Co-Author Chacey Schoeppel Wilcox A United States District Court (Indiana) (“Court”) addressed in a July 30th Order issues arising out of the sale of a manufacturing facility for which there was interest in constructing a...more
A federal court in Michigan recently granted several related franchisors’ motions to dismiss a franchisee’s claims for violations of the Michigan Franchise Investment law. Benjamin Franklin Franchising SPE LLC v. David...more
A recent court decision explained the circumstances under which a plaintiff may assert a claim for promissory estoppel and whether a private right of action exists for a certain alleged violation of the Michigan Franchise...more
Within days of one another, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and Second Circuits ruled—on issues of first impression for both—that ERISA expressly preempts state law breach of contract and promissory estoppel claims...more
A couple of months ago, we examined NW Media Holdings Corp. v. IBT Media Inc., 2023 N.Y. Slip Op. 30875(U) (Sup. Ct., N.Y. County Mar. 22, 2023) (here), a case in which a lower court addressed the question whether the...more
Barkley v. Connally, a “bet-the-farm” case if there ever was one, invokes the merger clause, a basic principle of contract law. Clients and lawyers: Read this analysis so as to avoid boundless grief and disappointment for...more
A federal court in Massachusetts has dismissed franchise claims brought against a manufacturer, concluding that the distributor had failed to identify a franchise fee that would qualify it for protection from non-renewal...more
The Tenth Circuit has ruled in favor of KFC in a dispute with a franchisee alleging a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Kazi v. KFC US, LLC, 2023 WL 4983119 (10th Cir. Aug. 4, 2023)....more
The California Court of Appeal, in a major win for managed care payors and claims administrators, affirmed a lower court decision granting summary judgment in favor of United Healthcare (United), finding that United did not...more
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, applying Florida law, denied an excess insurer’s motion to dismiss an estoppel claim where the insurer reversed its coverage position on which the insured...more
In Louis Degidio, Inc. v. Industrial Combustion, LLC, Louis Degidio, Inc. (Degidio) and Louis Degidio Services, Inc. (Degidio Services) sued Industrial Combustion, LLC (IC), a manufacturer of “institutional boiler system”...more
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals addressed in a July 13th opinion a pricing dispute involving the disposal of debris from a demolition project. See Advanced Trucking & Services, LLC v. Hanover Insurance Company, 2022 WL 2719712...more