Michael Giusto, Author at Neufeld O'Leary & Giusto

Beware usury laws when making or receiving a loan

Generally, the law recognizes parties’ freedom to enter into a contract under the terms of their choosing. Parties can freely determine the terms of their personal and business affairs unless the agreement is illegal. However, one area where New York law steps in to impose limitations on parties’ freedom of contract is with usury laws. … Read more

Suing Corporate Officers and Employees Personally for Misconduct

Typically, officers and employees of corporations or limited liability companies are not personally liable for acts taken in a corporate capacity. However, there are important exceptions. As discussed in a previous post, when a corporate entity fails to follow corporate formalities and its shareholders mingle personal and corporate funds, the shareholders may be personally liable … Read more

NY Court Rules on Standard for Discovery of an Insurer’s Investigation File

In any litigation, information that is relevant or intended to lead to relevant information is discoverable unless it falls within an exception. Relevant information which is privileged such as communications between an attorney-client, physician-patient, and spouses as well as attorney work product are common exceptions to the discovery rule. In the context of insurance coverage … Read more

Appellate Court protects individuals from being served in a lawsuit on Saturday Sabbath

When someone files a lawsuit, he/she must serve papers on the defendants to establish the Court’s personal jurisdiction over them. There are laws governing how and when serving papers can occur in order to be valid. Among the rules that apply are those dealing with serving papers on the Sabbath. Importantly, a recent New York Appellate … Read more

What merchants need to know about charging cash versus credit card prices

A few years ago, merchants knew not to charge a “surcharge” or extra fee for a customer who paid by credit card instead of fees because most major credit card agreements did not allow it. As a result of antitrust litigation, many credit card agreements no longer prohibit charging additional fees for credit card use. … Read more

Why you need the right choice of law clause in your contract

Most contracts have a choice of law provision which identifies the state law which will apply in actions brought under the agreement. Often this clause isn’t given a lot of attention until there is a dispute. However, the choice of law can have a big impact on how a contract is interpreted and enforced so … Read more

Obtaining Disclosure of Tax Returns in Litigation

Information contained in income tax returns can be relevant to various types of disputes. Therefore, parties may seek to “discover” the other party’s tax returns. However, courts generally do not require the disclosure of tax returns —even when the returns may be relevant—due to their private and confidential nature. Instead, courts apply a strict standard to … Read more

The pros and cons of asserting a “good faith” defense

In certain types of cases, including antitrust and patent matters, “good faith” is a commonly asserted defense. However, claiming “good faith” is not without risk– doing so may force a defendant to reveal attorney-client communications. Companies faced with impending litigation need to consider the advantages and disadvantages of relying on a good faith defense particularly … Read more

Appellate Court finds post-operative treatments fall under Family Medical Leave Act

Evaluating medical conditions for purposes of Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) claims can be challenging for employers especially as new court decisions continually reinterpret employer obligations. FMLA is a federal statute, which applies to employers with 50 or more employees.

Beware: Considerations for Estates of Decedents who Owned Guns

Leaving a gun to someone in your will can present a number of complications in the administration of your estate. New York law doesn’t allow an executor or beneficiary to simply take possession of a gun when they take over the estate of a gun owner. There are issues pertinent to gun ownership which must be considered in order to avoid complications and potential legal liability in estate planning and estate administration.

Executor responsibilities

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