[email protected]
+1 (212) 754 9000

Tesser Ryan Blog

New York County Supreme Court Dismisses Fraud, Gross Negligence and Breach of Contract Suit against Investigative Firm

29 Nov 2011
0

By Lewis Tesser, Partner, and Timothy Nolen, Associate

A recent opinion out of the New York County Supreme Court shows how important pleading requirements are when alleging intent to commit fraud. The case involved issues of business law, contract law, corporate law, civil practice and torts.

The case, Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund LP v. Kroll Associates, Inc., 2011 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 4737 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County, October 5, 2011), involved an investigative firm which was contracted to perform a due diligence investigation regarding a $20 million loan. When the loan turned out to be associated with a Ponzi scheme, the plaintiff sued the investigative firm, arguing that it failed to inform the plaintiff of various criminal and civil charges from the 1980s associated with the loan recipient. The Court dismissed the suit, noting that the plaintiff’s allegations would not prove intent to commit fraud and that news articles which the plaintiff alleged that the investigative firm failed to uncover were published earlier than the time period that the defendant agreed to search through. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the suit.

Platinum Partners demonstrates the complexity and importance of formulating proper pleadings in business litigation suits. At Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP, their attorneys have devoted years to commercial and business litigation. Their attorneys can advise clients how to prepare for such complex civil litigation.

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

About Post Author

mm

Lewis Tesser is a senior partner in the New York law firm of Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, LLP, concentrating his practice in litigation and mediation, representing licensed professionals and professional practices, administrative law and commercial law. Lew Tesser is Vice-President of the New York County Lawyers’ Association and Director of its Ethics Institute. Prior to private practice, Mr. Tesser was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. In that capacity, he represented various agencies of the United States government in litigation in the United States District Court and United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Tesser also served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Army where he prosecuted and defended criminal cases and was the chief legal advisor to the Commanding General of the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He also has served as an Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, New York City Civil Court, a Judge for the Environmental Control Board of the City of New York and a lecturer for various Bar Associations and New York area law schools. Mr. Tesser, who was admitted to practice in 1971, is a 1970 Honors graduate from the National Law Center, George Washington University, a Masters graduate from the Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania (l974) and a graduate of the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers. He is a past President of Congregation Sons of Israel, Nyack, NY. Publications and Speaking Engagements Editor-In-Chief, “The New York Rules of Professional Conduct Annotated”, Oxford University Press, New York, 2010. A complete list of Mr. Tesser’s speaking engagements and publications is available if you would like to learn more about Mr. Tesser’s work. Representative Cases In Re Zhang, 376 Fed. Appx. 104 (2d Cir. 2010) Continental Casualty Co. v. JBS Construct. Mgmt., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85467 (S.D.N.Y. 2010)

Leave a Reply

Tesser, Ryan, & Rochman Blog

At Tesser, Ryan, & Rochman we are committed to keeping current, former, and future clients up to date. Here on our blog we will have news regarding our firm, as well as business analysis, various cases, case studies, and legal findings for the benefit of our clients.