Commercial Division Blog: Current Developments in the Commercial Divisions of the New York State Courts

On July 27, 2026, in Bourbiaux v. Probst, Index No. 651161/2025, Justice Robert R. Reed of the New York County Commercial Division granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion to dismiss. Read More

On April 22, 2026, Justice Andrea Masley of the New York County Commercial Division identified various pleading deficiencies in granting defendants’ motion to dismiss a complaint seeking monetary and injunctive relief for misconduct alleged to have led to the bankruptcy of a non-party. The case is Mayer v. Goldner, Index No. 659341/2025. Read More

On July 10, 2026, in O’Connor v. Blue Diamond Growers, Index No. 160511/2025, Justice Andrea Masley of the New York County Commercial Division granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. Read More

On July 10, 2026, in Kim v. Radiology Associates of Main Street, P.C., Index No. 715347/2025, Justice Marguerite A. Grays of the Queens County Commercial Division denied defendant’s pre-answer motion to dismiss. Read More

On May 11, 2026, in Jennie Enterprise, et al., v. Michael Shvo, et al., Index No. 653221/2024, Justice Andrea Masley denied plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a second amended complaint adding causes of action for civil RICO violations, RICO conspiracy, fraudulent inducement, aiding and abetting fraudulent inducement, and breach of contract. Read More

On May 21, 2026, in New Tent, LLC, et al, v. Shanghai Commercial Bank Ltd., et al., Index No. 659251/2024, Justice Andrea Masley granted banks’ motions to dismiss claims that their threats to withhold funding and commence foreclosure created economic duress that should invalidate a forbearance agreement. Read More

On April 20, 2026, in D & V Realty LLC v. Klyukin, Index No. 656782/2022, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted defendant Mikhail Klyukin’s motion to dismiss the claims against him for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiffs—members of three Manhattan real-estate development LLCs—alleged that defendants effected an improper change in the management of those LLCs in February 2022, shortly before Klyukin was designated by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control as a Specially Designated National — a designation that, under OFAC’s 50%-ownership rule, also rendered the new management entities themselves blocked persons. Klyukin, a non-domiciliary, moved to dismiss under CPLR 3211(a)(8). Plaintiffs invoked long-arm jurisdiction under CPLR 302(a)(1), (a)(3), and (a)(4) and submitted emails and WhatsApp messages from 2016 through 2019 showing that Klyukin had exercised veto authority over the development projects through co-defendants then operating in New York. The Court held that, although the record showed Klyukin had exercised control over alleged New York-based agents through 2019, plaintiffs had produced no evidence—despite nearly four years of discovery—that Klyukin caused or participated in the 2022 management changes underpinning their claims. The Court also held that Klyukin’s indirect interest in New York real estate, through corporate entities, did not satisfy CPLR 302(a)(4)’s requirement that the defendant personally own, use, or possess the property at issue. In dismissing the claims, the Court explained: Read More

On February 24, 2026, in A Participations Ltd. v. Velissaris, Index No. 652720/2023, Justice Melissa A. Crane found plaintiffs’ fraud/fraudulent inducement claim lacking in several respects and dismissed it. With respect to impermissible group pleading, the Court explained: Read More

On January 5, 2026, in Bank of India, N.Y. Branch v. Anaya Gems, Inc., Index No. 655240/2018, Justice Andrea Masley dismissed plaintiffs’ RICO claims. The Court explained: Read More

On November 24, 2025, Justice Andrew Borrok sustained plaintiff’s claim for breach of contract, while dismissing its claim for quantum meruit as duplicative. The case is Torreya Partners LLC v. Sandoz Inc., Index No. 653040/2025. Read More

On October 4, 2025, Justice Andrea Masley denied a motion to dismiss and granted a stay in deference to two previously-filed federal actions. The case is Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC v. Entropic Communications, LLC, Index No. 655738/2023. Read More

On September 16, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen held that the voluntary dismissal of a note holder’s claim against Harvey Weinstein as guarantor warranted dismissal of a third-party complaint by Weinstein alleging fraudulent inducement. The case is AI International Holdings v. Weinstein, Index No. 656864/2017. Read More

On July 17, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen denied defendant’s motion to vacate the Court’s order granting plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the Third Amended Counterclaims in JG Group Holdings LLC v. Kahlon, Index No. 6521966/2020. Defendant sought to vacate the Court’s decision, arguing that the motion was unopposed due to excusable law office failure – specifically, mis-calendaring the filing deadline. The Court explained: Read More

On July 3, 2025, Justice Andrea Masley granted, in part, Defendant Marcum, LLP’s motion to dismiss the complaint in Hyros, Inc. v. Marcum, LLP, Index No. 653718/2023. Plaintiff asserted a claim for breach of contract against Marcum based on Marcum’s resignation from the engagement prior to completion, claiming Marcum failed to provide a valid explanation as to why, in its professional judgment, the circumstances required March to resign. Marcum argued it had the right to resign at any time without limitation. The Court agreed with Marcum on this claim, explaining: Read More

On May 19, 2025, Justice Andrea Masley granted in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss causes of action under employment-related agreements to engage in the purchase, operation, and sale of various shipping vessels. The case is Kasselakis v. Tiptree, Inc., Index No. 653395/2024. Read More

On May 14, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted a motion to dismiss an action brought by a plaintiff who contracted to assist the defendant company with securing PPE manufactured in China that was later resold to New York City. In David Zeng v. HH Fairchild Holdings, LLC, et al., Index No. 651864/2024, the plaintiff sued for breach of contract, but the Court ruled that it lacked long-arm jurisdiction over the defendant, despite the defendant’s sale of PPE to New York City, because that sale lacked a sufficient nexus with the plaintiff’s cause of action. The Court explained: Read More

On March 31, 2025, Justice Melissa A. Crane denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s breach of fiduciary claims in G.O.C. Invs. Co. Inc. v. Boaz Bagbag, Index No. 650785/2024. Plaintiff claimed, in essence, that defendants fraudulently induced G.O.C. to invest millions of dollars to create two jointly owned companies but defendants improperly took funds belonging to or owed to the companies. As to the plaintiff’s breach of fiduciary duty claims, the Court explained: Read More

On April 4, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen ruled that a defendant seeking to dismiss claims against him on grounds of res judicata could not rely on a federal court’s summary judgment order because the order was not a “final conclusion” to the claim. In Raistone Purchasing LLC-Series XXXVII v. Gustavo Andres Patino Ocampo, et al., Index No. 654931/2024, defendant Gustavo Patino Ocampo argued that a federal court’s order on summary judgment in a federal action precluded the claim against him in state court. The Court denied his motion to dismiss, explaining: Read More

On April 11, 2025, Justice Andrea Masley granted a motion to dismiss an action brought by several lenders and lien holders on real property because their interest in the retail share of the property as collateral, even after a foreclosure and with power of attorney, did not suffice to give them standing. In Wilmington Trust, National Association, et al., v. Board of Managers 229 West 43rd Street Condominium, et al., Index No. 154811/2023, the lender plaintiffs sought a declaratory judgment declaring the allocation of expenses on façade work improper, as well as damages resulting from the allegedly improper allocation. The defendant board of managers moved to dismiss, arguing that the mere holding of promissory notes secured by a mortgage on parts of the property did not give the lenders standing to sue over expense allocation at the time it occurred, even if the lenders had since foreclosed on the collateral and secured power of attorney. The Court granted the motion to dismiss, explaining Read More

On April 1, 2025, Justice Joel M. Cohen granted plaintiff’s motion to dismiss certain counterclaims, including one for fraudulent inducement. World Host Group US, Inc. v. O’Cloud Ventures, LLC, Index No. 654128/2023. The Court explained: Read More