You won your $3 million breach of contract case in Manhattan Supreme Court after eighteen months of litigation. The judge entered judgment in your favor. Then your lawyer handed you a bill for $480,000 in legal fees — and explained you may not be able to recover a penny of it from the defendant. The reason is that attorney's fees in New York breach of contract cases follow the American Rule: each side pays its own lawyer regardless of who wins. Whether you can shift those fee

You spent 14 months negotiating to buy a SoHo loft building for $7.2 million. The seller signed. You wired the deposit. Then, a week before closing, the seller sends a one-line email: "We're terminating. Keep the deposit." Money damages won't get you that building, and there isn't another one like it on the block. This is where specific performance in New York commercial contracts becomes the remedy that actually matters. Specific performance is the equitable order that force

You've just been sued for $4 million by your former distributor. The written contract says the territory was non-exclusive, but you remember a handshake meeting in your Long Island City office where the company's founder promised exclusivity in exchange for higher minimum orders. Your lawyer tells you that conversation may never reach the jury. Welcome to the parol evidence rule in New York — one of the most powerful, most underestimated weapons in commercial litigation. It c

You signed a three-year contract to supply hotel linens to a Manhattan boutique chain. Eighteen months in, the chain terminates without cause and signs with your competitor. You're staring at $4 million in revenue you'll never see — but can a New York court actually award you those lost profits, or will the judge throw out your damages claim as too speculative? This is the single most contested question in mid-size commercial disputes, and getting it right shapes everything f

You sign a five-year commercial lease for a restaurant space in the Meatpacking District. Six months in, a government order forces you to close completely — no indoor dining, no events, no revenue. You stop paying rent. Your landlord sues for the full balance. You argue it was impossible to operate. The law should excuse your performance. Whether that argument holds up depends heavily on two words: force majeure . More specifically, it depends on what your contract actually s

How Risk of Loss, FOB Terms, and Drafting Errors Decide Real Disputes Destination vs shipment contracts determine when risk of loss transfers from seller to buyer.Under the New York UCC, shipment contracts are the default unless the contract clearly says otherwise. If goods are damaged in transit, liability often turns on a few words like FOB shipping point or FOB destination. Many disputes happen because parties assume delivery means arrival. It does not. Clear drafting prev