Grove Equities LLC v Diaz

🚨 Victory at the Appellate Division for Pitter Law, PLLC

Proud to share that the Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed summary judgment in favor of our client, in a hard-fought commercial lease guaranty dispute.

The defendants/guarantors attempted to walk back a stipulated settlement, so-ordered by the Civil Court and upheld as inherently fair, after defaulting on its terms. They raised new defenses (including usury and public policy arguments) for the first time on appeal. The Court rejected all of them.

The decision highlights several principles:

• Enforceability of Stipulations: Courts will rigorously enforce settlements negotiated by counsel and entered into in open court.

• Liquidated Damages: Provisions in stipulations of settlement for sums certain are not "liquidated damages" if they don't reflect estimates of unknown future damages.

• Waiver and Res Judicata: Parties who waive defenses in a stipulation and fail to raise them below cannot revive them on appeal. The Court found that defendants had ample opportunity to raise their arguments earlier, but didn’t.

Proud to have enforced the deal our client relied on, and to reaffirm that parties don’t get a second bite at the apple after settling in open court.

Grove Equities LLC.pdf

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