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A Failed Attempt to Avoid Legal Fees
Matrimonial attorneys often have trouble collecting their fees from clients. This can be especially true when the case has been resolved and the client is dissatisfied with the outcome. Clients may get very creative in their efforts to avoid making payment. Case in point: A suit brought by a law firm against a nonpaying client was recently decided in the firm's favor, in spite of the defendant client's unusual attempt to be excused from his obligation. The case, Paul, Weiss Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison v. Koons, 2004 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 667 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty. 5/14/04) (Acosta, J.) presented the novel issue of whether a party could defeat a properly pleaded account-stated cause of action in an attorney-client relationship by claiming that the legal fees were excessive pursuant to DR 2-106, therefore rendering the agreement to pay the outstanding fees illegal and unenforceable.
An account stated is an agreement between the parties to an account based on prior transactions between them acknowledging the correctness of the separate items and agreeing that a balance is due by one party to the other. An implicit agreement to pay arises when the party that owes money to the other fails to object to the bill within a reasonable time or makes partial payments on it. Evidence warranting summary judgment in the creditors favor “will arise from either the absence of any objection to a bill within a reasonable time or a partial payment of the outstanding bills.” Chisholm-Ryder Co. Inc. v. Sommer & Sommer, 70 A.D.2d 429, 431, 421 N.Y.S.2d 455 (4th Dept. 1979). In addition, an affirmance by the debtor that the money is owed will make it difficult for a court later to hold that the debt is not legitimate.
The Facts
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.