RECENT RESULTS OBTAINED BY FRIER LEVITT
Frier & Levitt has achieved substantial results on behalf of clients in personal injury, product liability, wrongful death and employment matters. In some cases, we are barred by Confidential Settlement Agreements from mentioning the names of our clients or the names of the defendants. However, we are permitted to reveal the types of claims and the amount of money we recovered by way of jury verdict or settlement.
- $1,700,000 Savings to Client. Breach of Equipment Lease & Personal Guaranty. Our mobile medical imaging facility client and its radiologist/owner were sued for breach of an equipment lease and personal guaranty by the lessor. The lessor sought approximately $1,900,000 in damages based on non-payment of lease. We settled the case for $173,000.
Our mobile medical imaging facility client and its radiologist/owner entered into an equipment lease, note and personal guaranty with a major supplier/lessor of radiology equipment to lease a mobile PET/CT system and trailer. After the manufacturer/lessor declared our clients in default on their payment obligations under the equipment lease, note and personal guaranty, we filed a lawsuit seeking, among other relief, a declaratory judgment that our radiologist client was not liable under the personal guaranty. The manufacturer/lessor asserted counterclaims for an alleged breach of the Equipment Lease, Note and Personal Guaranty based on our clients’ alleged non-payment. The manufacturer’s/lessor’s counterclaim sought damages against our clients in the amount of approximately $1,900,000. While the client had arguably defaulted on its payment obligations, we argued that our clients were not liable because the manufacturer/lessor materially breached the Lease by not properly delivering and installing the equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s published specifications. After successfully opposing the manufacturer/lessor’s motion to dismiss our claim for declaratory judgment arguing that the subject lease did not constitute a finance lease under New Jersey’s Uniform Commercial Code (and therefore our client’s absolute and unconditional guaranty was unenforceable as a matter of law), we were able to settle the lawsuit for the total sum of $173,000, thereby saving our client over $1,700,000.