You signed a five-year supply agreement with a Bronx manufacturer worth $6 million. Buried on page 14 is a clause saying no changes are effective unless in writing and signed by both parties. Eighteen months in, your operations manager and the manufacturer's sales VP shake hands on a new pricing schedule. Two years later, the manufacturer sues you for underpayment based on the original written terms. Are you protected by the handshake deal? In most cases, no — and no-oral-mod

You signed a five-year exclusive distribution agreement with a Manhattan importer for your Long Island City warehouse operation. The contract gives the importer “ sole discretion” to approve which retailers you can service. Two years in, they start rejecting every account you propose — not because the retailers are bad, but because the importer quietly launched a competing distribution arm and wants your business to fail. The contract's express terms don't obviously prohibit

Updated October 21, 2026 Picture a breach of contract case in Manhattan Supreme Court that ends with a judgment in your favor after three years of litigation. The judge signs the judgment. Then your lawyer explains that the total is larger than the damages award, because prejudgment interest in New York breach of contract cases runs at 9% per year, calculated back to the day the contract was breached. That's not a bonus. That's the law. And many business owners in $1M–$10M di

You signed a $5 million contract eight months ago to supply commercial HVAC units to a Long Island City developer. Delivery isn't due for another four months. Then, in a single Tuesday-afternoon email, the developer's project manager writes that the building is being redesigned and they 'won't need the units anymore.' No apology, no offer to renegotiate. Do you have to wait until the delivery date to sue for breach? Not in New York. Anticipatory repudiation in New York contra

You sign a $3.8 million contract in January to supply custom fixtures to a hotel developer building near Hudson Yards. Delivery is due in October. In April, the developer's CFO emails you: "We're pulling out of the project. Don't ship anything." You haven't missed a deadline. Nothing is late. But the deal is dead — and you have payroll to make, materials on order, and a factory floor booked for the summer. Do you have to sit around until October to sue? You don't. New York la

Your Long Island City manufacturing company just signed a five-year exclusive distribution deal with a national retailer. Two weeks later, a competitor calls the retailer, undercuts your pricing, and dangles a sweetheart rebate. The retailer walks. Your CFO is furious, your projections are in ruins, and the competitor shrugs it off as tough business. If any of this sounds familiar, you're likely looking at a claim for tortious interference with contract in New York — one of t

When selling goods in New York, what you say about a product can create real legal obligations. Many business owners believe warranties only exist when written into a contract. In practice, statements made during negotiations, marketing, or demonstrations often create enforceable rights for buyers—and those statements can later become the basis of a breach of warranty claim. Under Express Warranties Under New York UCC §2-313, sellers can unintentionally create warranties simp