Commercial, Real Estate, and Insurance Litigation

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• Law Firm Representation
• Life Insurance and Insurance Coverage Litigation
• Consumer Class Action Lawsuits
• Partnership and Commercial Contract Disputes
• Real Estate Litigation
• Construction Defects, Geo-technical Defects, & Environmental Claims
• Commercial Appellate Decisions
• Other Commercial Cases

COMPLEX COMMERCIAL LITIGATION & APPELLATE DECISIONS

New York and New Jersey

Trief & Olk is known for its ability to handle diverse and complex commercial cases. Examples of cases we have handled can be viewed on the primary commercial litigation practice pages of our website. Trief & Olk has expertly handled a variety of additional commercial cases including:

• United Pickle Products Corp. v. Prayer Temple Community Church, 43 A.D.3d 307, 843 N.Y.S.2d 1 (1st Dept. 2007). The Court reversed a decision of the lower court and granted our client adverse possession of certain real estate.
• Goldman v. Simon Property Group, Inc., 31 A.D.3d 382, 818 N.Y.S.2d 245 (2d Dept. 2006). In an action brought on behalf of a class of holders of gift cards who were charged a fee because the cards were not used within six months of purchase, the lower court dismissed the class action on the grounds that it was preempted under federal law. On appeal, we were able to get the lower court reversed and the action reinstated.
• Burke v. Steinmann, 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 8930 (S.D.N.Y. 2004). We were able to obtain summary judgment for our client, who had entered into agreements to purchase a restaurant and assume managerial and operational control of the restaurant while awaiting approval of the purchase. The owners of the restaurant, however, refused to go ahead with the purchase and terminated our client. The court awarded compensation as a manager under the management agreement and rejected claims by the owners that it was entitled to damages for our client’s handling of the restaurant.
• Golia v. The Leslie Fay Co., Inc., 2003 U.S. Dist. Lexis 13794 (S.D.N.Y. 2003). In an age discrimination case, the court found that our clients had demonstrated “ample” evidence for a factfinder to determine that they were victims of discrimination and imposed sanctions on the defendant for the destruction of evidence.
• Freeman v. Complex Computing, Inc., 119 F.3d 1044 (2d Cir. 1997), and 979 F. Supp. 257 (S.D.N.Y. 1997). In this action, we were able to “pierce the corporate veil” and require the principal of the defendant corporation to arbitrate a dispute with a former employee, not simply the corporation itself.
• Micro Korea Co., Ltd. v. Big Joy Brothers Co., Ltd., 1994 U.S. Dist. Lexis 8414 (S.D.N.Y. 1994). We were able to win summary judgment in a contract dispute in which the defendant claimed that there were oral agreements but the court held that any such oral agreement was unenforceable under New York law.
• Green v. Royal Indemnity Co., 1994 U.S. Dist. Lexis 7948 (S.D.N.Y. 1994). We were able to obtain a judgment for the family of a man killed when the wheels of a tractor trailer broke loose and struck the van driven by the decedent. The insurance company disclaimed coverage, but because the tractor trailer had a federal endorsement, we were able to collect against the insurance company.
• Total Spectrum Manufacturing, Inc. v. Frassetto, 172 A.D.2d 747, 569 N.Y.S.2d 133 (2d Dept. 1991) and 168 A.D.2d 552, 562 N.Y.S.2d 773 (2d Dept. 1990). In two disputes between a commercial tenant who had an exclusive option to purchase the premise and its landlord, we were able to obtain an order that the landlord breached its contract with the tenant by giving another defendant an option to renew its lease, contrary to its agreement with our client. We also obtained an order which was affirmed on appeal granting our client a “Yellowstone Injunction” barring the landlord from evicting our client and allowing it to cure a default under the lease, if any.
• Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. v. Young Astronaut Council, 747 F. Supp. 945 (S.D.N.Y. 1990). We tried an action before Judge Robert L. Carter in which Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc., our client, won a judgment against the Young Astronaut Council for breach of contract which included attorneys’ fees as well as the sums due under the contract.

Commercial litigation issues can be complicated matters that require in-depth. For experience and expertise in commercial litigation matters, please feel free to call or e-mail our New York or New Jersey attorneys for an evaluation of your case.