George Bundy Smith

June 30, 2009 | New York Law Journal

George Bundy Smith, a former Associate Judge on the New York Court of Appeals, and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, address the current state of the New York law as it relates to the preservation and production of ESI, examining the relevant rules governing the use of ESI in the Commercial Division and consider the case law, focusing on developments in the preservation of ESI and the financial burdens of producing ESI.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

15 minute read

December 18, 2009 | New York Law Journal

George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, write that over several decades, New York courts have outlined a general rule that a party should not be bound to a jury waiver provision in a contract where there is an unresolved issue over the contract's application or validity. A recent decision reaffirms this reasoning in leaving it to the jury to decide the disputed issue of whether the contract containing a jury trial waiver was binding. In addition, this decision appears to have added some clarity to the analysis of two 2007 commercial division decisions, in which the court, not a jury, decided the threshold issue of contract enforceability.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

12 minute read

December 03, 2007 | New York Law Journal

George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, review two recent Commercial Division decisions that demonstrate the breadth of judicial discretion in making the determination of whether questions common to the class predominate over questions affecting individual class members. Although the factual allegations underlying the two cases were strikingly similar, entirely different outcomes were reached.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

14 minute read

August 21, 2008 | New York Law Journal

George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, review the recent decision in GFI Securities LLC v. Tradition Asiel Securities Inc., which raised the issue of whether, for judicial estoppel to apply, the prior inconsistent position must have led to a judgment being entered in the prior case. Historically, the doctrine has been found applicable only where a prior judgment was obtained, but in this case, the court based its decision on prior determinations on motions for preliminary injunctions.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

14 minute read

June 18, 2010 | New York Law Journal

In their Commercial Division Update column, George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners at Chadbourne & Parke, write that the likelihood of enforceability increases as a disclaimer gets more specific, but, on the other hand, as a disclaimer gets more specific, the scope of the misrepresentations and omissions that it catches may draw narrower.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

11 minute read

June 17, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In their Commercial Division Update, George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, analyze a recent ruling holding that language assigning "all rights and interests" in a loan can transfer to the assignee the right to bring both contract and tort claims, particularly where the assignment assigned claims "related to" the loan documents.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

12 minute read

December 19, 2008 | New York Law Journal

George Bundy Smith and Scott S. Balber, partners in the law firm of Chadbourne & Parke, review Murphy v. United States Dredging Corp., a judicial dissolution of a closely held corporation, where the court attempted to clarify the distinction between a "marketability discount," a discount applied in stock valuation to compensate for the lack of a ready market for the shares, and a "minority discount," a discount applied in stock valuation to compensate for the lack of control enjoyed by a minority shareholder.

By George Bundy Smith and Scott S. Balber

9 minute read

June 30, 2008 | New York Law Journal

George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall, partners with Chadbourne & Parke, review the recent decision in Gotham Boxing Inc. v. Finkel, which brings into focus the tension between courts that dismiss tort claims that are "related to" a breach of contract claim, and those holding that tort claims should not be dismissed merely because they relate to a contractual relationship, so long as the tort claim adds "something extra" not found in the contract claim

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

13 minute read

August 19, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In their Commercial Division Update, Chadbourne & Parke partners George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall discuss three recent cases which highlight critical judicial limitations on what constitutes a controversy impacting an interest in real property such as to make a notice of pendency proper, and situations which a notice of pendency may be used, and how careful pleading of the complaint might avoid them.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

10 minute read

April 15, 2011 | New York Law Journal

In their Commercial Division Update, George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall of Chadbourne & Parke discuss the split that has emerged at the state trial court level regarding the enforceability of an Administrative Order which requires foreclosing lenders to submit affirmations confirming the accuracy of their pleadings, and they provide an outlook for how it might be received by the appellate courts.

By George Bundy Smith and Thomas J. Hall

10 minute read