What ‘Animal House’ Can Teach Us About Reasonable Reliance in Fraud Cases

The boys of Delta Tau Chi unknowingly teach us about an important legal defence in fraud cases. What is reasonable reliance, and when is it effective?

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PLUP Fiction: Bad Faith Insurance

Can you rely on your insurance company’s description of your insurance policy? Learn about insurance bad faith and your rights as the insured. 

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Attorney Immunity? The Allen Stanford Ponzi Case Sparks Debate

The Fraud at Night, It Shines So Bright… In 2012, Allen Stanford was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme and sentenced to 110 years in prison. As the New York Times reported, Stanford, “is now a shadow of the swaggering financier who only three years ago had an estimated fortune of over $2 billion, a […]

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Puff, the Magic Defense: Is Puffery a Trump Card? A Look at Puffery as a Legal Defense

Puffery as a Legal Defense- a Family Affair On Oct. 4, 2017, the New Yorker, in collaboration with ProPublica and WNYC, reported that Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were subjects of an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office relating to them allegedly “misleading prospective buyers of units in the Trump SoHo, a hotel and […]

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Does the Law Allow Fraud Defendants to Blame the Victim?

The Blame the Victim Defense: Should contributory negligence be a defense to fraud? In almost every negligence case the jury must decide if the plaintiff was partly responsible for the harm she alleges the defendant caused her. State legislatures write and rewrite complicated laws about this idea, known in the courts as “comparative fault”- deciding […]

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It’s Never RICO! What this Column Presupposes is, Maybe Sometimes it is

If you type the phrase “It’s never RICO” into Google, you’ll get a bunch of hits, including this clever and interesting discussion. The Google image search returns “House, M.D.” memes. I would beg you, dear reader, not to Google “RICO Trump”. It’s a rabbit hole where you will see all sorts of nonsense about alleged forthcoming sealed indictments […]

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Theranos Revisited

Theranos made headlines for the alleged failure of its signature blood test – and for civil and criminal suits from its stockholders.

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Bringing a Fraud Claim: Is Time on Your Side?

The statute of limitations on your fraud claim may depend on when you knew (or learned) about the fraud. When did you know? If you are an (alleged) victim of fraud, you are going to be asked this question. If your lawyer is smart, she’ll ask this question very early on.

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UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Real Story of an NFL Lawsuit

It was 4:00 AM when the police convoy rolled up on Country Crossing, a new electronic bingo house in Alabama. No fewer than 135 state police cars cascaded into the rural compound. In the aftermath, a group of NFL players—including big names like Ray Lewis and Fred Taylor—lost tens of millions of dollars.

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Episode 92 with Adam Hirsch

Frauds! Fakes! Ponzis! In Episode 92, Chris Cahill and Adam Hirsch, of Robinson, Curley & Clayton speak of these fascinating things, along with RICO! Restitution! and Receivers! Adam draws upon his experience litigating business fraud cases to illustrate recoveries and defenses. See also Adam’s column — (Alleged) Frauds, Fakes and Ponzis — on www.financialpoise.com.

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