New York Breach Of Contract Legal Questions

You have a claim.  However, you are going to find that there is a clause in your contract with ADT which limits its liability to a small amount (most likely $50 or $100).  Such a clause will not be enforced in New York to the extent that it limits liability for gross negligence, but is enforceable to the extent that it limits liability for simple negligence or breach of contract.  You're going to have a tough time showing that ADT's delay in repairing the system was more egregious than a simple breach of contract or negligence.... Read More

I'm going to assume that the law of the state in which the seller is located applies, and that that location is in the United States.  I don't know what the answer would be if Spanish law applies, which is a real possibility, or if the seller is not located in the US. Your email contract, assuming no other problems with it (i.e. everyone is of legal age, competent, there was no duress, fraud, or mistake, the object was not illegal, etc. etc. etc.) would be valid.  Most contracts do not even have to be in writing to be enforceable.  Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a contract for the sale of a book would generally not have to be in writing, unless it was for over $500.  However, even if this book was sold for more than $500, the emails would be sufficient writing. However, I'm not sure that any contract was breached.  You offered to buy a book for a given price, and that offer was accepted.  But that only means that the seller is obligated to selll the book to you, and presumably to ship it to you (unless the site specified that you had to pick it up.)  It probably doesn't obligate the seller to ship the book to a third party, or list your name as the shipper (especially since you misrepresented that you were sending the book to California to be repaired, when you were really just reselling the book), unless you had previously done business with the seller that way or that condition is the way business is usually done in the rare book industry. Also, what damages have you sustained?  Since your payment was refunded, the only amount you've lost is the amount you could have sold the book for minus what you would have paid, which I'm guessing is probably not a substantial enough amount for you to start a lawsuit over.... Read More

You say you want a divorce, but under American law (I don't know Egyptian law) you were never married in the first place.  When he purported to marry you, your "husband" was married to whichever other woman he married first (you don't mention any divorce from the Indian woman, so if that marriage was valid in the first place it still exists; if he was validly married to the woman whose signature he forged, he is still married to her, forging her signature on the divorce papers means that the divorce is invalid), and therefore the marriage was not valid under American law, which prohibits bigamy.... Read More

When you write that you cosigned for a car, do you mean that you were a joint owner of the car or just that you cosigned the car loan?  If you just mean that you cosigned the loan, how did you become the owner of the car?  If the owner of the car died with a will, the car would pass according to that will.  If not, the car would pass on the basis of the laws of intestacy.  Either way, the car would not become yours simply because the owner died, but rather a proceeding would have to be commenced in the appropriate court which would authorize someone (an executor/executrix or administrator/administrator) to dispose of the decedent's assets. If you were a joint owner of the car (a joint owner means that complete ownership automatically passes to the surviving owner upon the death of the other joint owner;even if you owned half the car, if you owned it as a tenant in common, rather than a joint tenant, title to the car would not pass to you automatically, and someone would have to start a court proceeding), you can seek to rescind the contract, arguing that the bank has materially breached it by failing for so long to get you what you needed to transfer title. If, however, you were not a joint owner but only a cosigner of the loan, only someone authorized by the court to act on behalf of the estate can change title.  It's not the bank's fault (that is, it is not a breach of contract by the bank) that no court proceeding has yet been commenced.... Read More

Unless the law of South Dakota (or some other jurisdiction applies) and is very different from the law of New York, the fact that you were underage when you entered the contract is no longer a defense to it.  While you probably could have voided this contract while you were still a minor, you cannot do so ten years later, 11 years after you signed it and began enjoying its benefits.  If the company changed the date, that would have been relevant if you had acted within a reasonable time period and there was an issue about your having been a minor when you executed the contract, but having done nothing about it for so long, you can't avoid the ocntract now.... Read More

You may have a claim, but likely this will require litigation. You will have to weigh the costs of hiring an attorney, versus the monies you can prove were paid to the workers and the sum that would be due to you. Gerry Wendrovsky, Esq.- Upper West Side Employment Lawyer www.upperwestsidelawyer.com... Read More

I have a feeling that there are a lot of facts relevant to this matter which are not contained in your email, but let me take a shot at it based on what I know.  Your should be aware, however, that there are factors which can complicate matters which you do not address. For example, did your friend leave any unpaid debts or people with claims against him? Did he leave any surviving spouse who may exercise a right of election? Not sure what you mean about the niece being the second codicil, unless you mean that in a second codicil to the will, all the money was left to the niece.  That may or may not matter, as set forth below. Certain assets pass on according to a person's will, but other assets pass outside the will.  For example, my will may leave all my assets to my girlfriend, but if I own a house as a joint tenant with right of survivorship (not a tenant in common) with my brother, the house passes to him upon my death.  If I have a life insurance policy, the money passes to the beneficiary upon my death, regardless of what my will says. It appears that your friends owned the bank account as joint tenants with right of survivorship.  If your friend agreed with his friend that the bank account would pass to the survivor, that supercedes any will.  If the bank was party to that contract, they should have not have transferred the money to the decedent's niece.  If the bank did not know about the arrangement, however, they may have transferred the money to the sister AS THE EXECUTOR, not in her individual capacity.  Your friend can still recover it, but he will have to make a claim against the estate.  ... Read More

For there to be a breach of the contract there had to be a declaration of "time of the essence". Having a date in the contract is not enough. Secondly, I am not sure how it became a loan contingency if the contract indicated that it was a cash deal unless there was a subsequent agreement made. ... Read More

Depending on how complete and detailed they are, the text messages may well constitute a sufficient writing to satisfy the Statute of Frauds (the statute that requires some contracts to be in writing to be enforceable; of course, this doesn't mean that the text messages satisfy all other requirements of a valid contract).  However, most agreements do not have to be in writing to be enforceable.  Assuming that your agreement was to sublet the apartment for a term of less than a year, it probably was not required to be in writing.  Thus, if all other elements of a contract were met (consideration, agreement on all material terms, etc.), and that the apartment was in good condition as you say, your damages would be the difference in rent between what the original prospective subtenant agreed to pay and what the second subtenant paid.... Read More

You could sue the company, but I wouldn't do so unless, you had already given up the unit. Also, if you sue for lost income, you would have to prove same in court. In my experience, not many people are wiling to show tax returns, etc.   Gerry Wendrovsky, Esq. www.upperwestsidelawyer.com... Read More

You should first check with governmental agencies to see if he is licensed. Then you have to look at your agreement as to what your options are if a parties have a dispute.  For example, some agreements require mediation and/or arbitration. Since some  agreements are complicated it may be a good idea for you to meet with a lawyer and show him the agreement and any other relevant documents. ... Read More

If the amount at issue is worth it to you, you can sue in court to enforce your oral contract.  The amount at issue is probably small enough that you can sue in small claims court.  If you have already paid the money, you can sue for a refund (although you may have already forfeited your rights by paying).  If not, you can seek a declaratory judgment that you owe only $22 per plate, not $26.... Read More