Breach of Contract

In order to successfully evaluate and resolve breach of contract disputes, a thorough knowledge of the customs, practices, technology and terminology that are used in business transactions and industry is required.

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Resolving Disputes Quickly and Efficiently

Our Business Litigation Team possesses a deep understanding of commercial settings and commercial law, gained from vast experience in cases involving financial transactions, insurance, manufacturing, product distribution, employment relationships and professional services, to name a few. The Team strives to resolve breach of contract disputes quickly and efficiently, while being prepared to forcefully litigate, if necessary. We have worked on everything from payment disputes to bet-the-company litigation in state and federal courts in New York and around the country.

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Breach of Contract Representation

We have represented clients across a broad spectrum of industries on breach of contract matters. Our representation includes:
  • Successfully defended a Buffalo-based manufacturing company in three, simultaneous bet-the-company breach of contract cases with exposure in excess of $24 million—saving more than 100 local jobs.
  • Represented a government contractor in a $70 million contract dispute with the federal government.
  • Obtained a $21 million verdict for a liability insurer’s bad faith failure to pay.
  • Represented a major national park concessioner in a $100 million suit against the National Park Service for failure to compensate for intellectual property and capital improvements.
  • Obtained a no-cause finding after arbitration of a $20 million indemnity claim.
  • Successfully defended a bet-the-company case against a sugar manufacturer.
  • Secured defense judgments in a number of “mass actions” brought on behalf of hundreds of mortgagors against numerous lenders for breach of contract and other alleged violations.
  • Obtained summary judgment on liability, damages and future damages involving a breach of a 10-year term contract breached in year four.
  • Resolved a dispute with a disloyal high-level employee in the early stages of a public offering, enforcing a confidentiality provision and negotiating the surrender of a significant sum of stock options.
  • Successfully enforced non-competition and confidentiality provisions in anticipation of a shareholder dissolution lawsuit arising from a workplace fraud investigation and the termination of the shareholder/employee, and then obtained the dismissal of the dissolution proceeding.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a regulated utility against a public benefit corporation in a favorable decision that turned on whether the contract was subject to New York State competitive bidding requirements.
  • Obtained pre-answer dismissal of a breach of contract claim based on the plaintiff’s failure to allege the essential elements of a breach of contract cause of action including, but not limited to, damages flowing from the alleged breach.
  • Obtained summary judgment in a contract action on behalf of a municipal client that was overcharged by another municipality for certain services and obligations. Summary judgment was affirmed on appeal. Success in the action resulted in payments to our municipal client of approximately $3.2 million dollars. In addition, the court made certain declaratory findings that resulted in additional annual savings of approximately $450,000 per year.
  • Successfully argued the application of a limited liability clause to limit client’s damages to $1,000 when damages sought were in excess of $500,000.
  • Successfully defended a $20 million arbitration claim seeking indemnity from a national bank for Office of Thrift Supervision penalties. Phillips Lytle obtained a no cause finding, as well as an award of attorneys’ fees and costs in favor of the client.
  • Obtained a $27 million trial verdict against a client’s business income insurer for wrongfully denying coverage for damages resulting from a product recall.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a lender in a highly publicized special proceeding dismissing the New York State Office of the Attorney General’s multimillion dollar claim alleging the client had repeatedly and illegally violated a court rule and thereby delayed settlement conferences in hundreds of residential foreclosure cases.
  • Successfully argued a landmark case whereby the New York Court of Appeals held that a Florida choice-of-law provision was unenforceable because the “near-exclusive” focus on an employer’s interests of Florida’s restrictive covenant law is offensive to fundamental New York public policy protecting an employee’s right to earn a livelihood.
  • Obtained a settlement of a $188 million claim against former trustees for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary for less than 1% of the amount of the claim.
  • Successfully spearheaded a continuing nationwide affirmative recovery effort against commercial guarantors, resulting in verdicts, judgments and settlements totaling over $24 million over a five-year period.
  • Obtained a directed verdict for a tire distributor involving breach of contracts and promissory notes.

Meet Our Breach of Contract Team

Myles K. Bartley Partner
Peter A. Bellacosa
Edward S. Bloomberg Of Counsel
Erin C. Borek Partner
Craig R. Bucki Partner
William D. Christ Partner, Governing Committee
Anna Mercado Clark Partner, Chief Information Security Officer, Governing Committee
Erin E. Connare Partner
David L. Cook Partner
Jeffrey D. Coren Special Counsel
Andrew P. Devine Partner
James J. Doody Senior Associate
Frank G. Dylewski Special Counsel
Stefan W. Engelhardt Special Counsel
Kevin J. English Of Counsel
Nicholas P. Fedorka Associate
Chad W. Flansburg Partner
Joshua Glasgow Partner
Marc H. Goldberg Special Counsel
Tristan D. Hujer Partner
Eric M. Kraus Partner
Ryan A. Lema Partner
Craig A. Leslie Partner, Governing Committee
Amanda L. Lowe Partner
Kenneth A. Manning Partner
David J. McNamara Partner
Sean C. McPhee Partner
Kevin J. Mulvehill Partner, Governing Committee
James R. O’Connor Partner
Paula P. Plaza Associate
Michael B. Powers Of Counsel
Nicholas C. Roberts Associate
John G. Schmidt Jr. Partner
Joseph B. Schmit Partner
Mitch P. Snyder Associate
Jacob S. Sonner Partner
Rebecca A. Valentine Associate
Preston L. Zarlock Partner, Governing Committee
Meet the Team
Myles K. Bartley Partner
(212) 508-0423
mbartley@phillipslytle.com
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PL-Bio-Profile-BellacosaPeter
Peter A. Bellacosa
(212) 508-0474
pbellacosa@phillipslytle.com
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Edward S. Bloomberg Of Counsel
(716) 847-7096
ebloomberg@phillipslytle.com
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Erin C. Borek Partner
(716) 847-7048
eborek@phillipslytle.com
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Craig R. Bucki Partner
(716) 847-5495
cbucki@phillipslytle.com
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William D. Christ Partner, Governing Committee
(716) 847-8332
wchrist@phillipslytle.com
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Anna Mercado Clark Partner, Chief Information Security Officer, Governing Committee
(212) 508-0466
aclark@phillipslytle.com
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Erin E. Connare Partner
(716) 847-8355
econnare@phillipslytle.com
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David L. Cook Partner
(585) 238-2012
dcook@phillipslytle.com
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Jeffrey D. Coren Special Counsel
(716) 847-7024
jcoren@phillipslytle.com
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Andrew P. Devine Partner
(716) 504-5718
adevine@phillipslytle.com
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James J. Doody Senior Associate
(716) 847-7092
jdoody@phillipslytle.com
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Frank G. Dylewski Special Counsel
(312) 794-7307
fdylewski@phillipslytle.com
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Stefan W. Engelhardt Special Counsel
(212) 508-0498
sengelhardt@phillipslytle.com
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Kevin J. English Of Counsel
(716) 847-5447
kenglish@phillipslytle.com
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Nicholas Fedorka
Nicholas P. Fedorka Associate
(585) 238-2046
nfedorka@phillipslytle.com
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Chad Flansburg
Chad W. Flansburg Partner
(585) 238-2009
cflansburg@phillipslytle.com
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Joshua Glasgow
Joshua Glasgow Partner
(716) 847-5465
jglasgow@phillipslytle.com
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Marc H. Goldberg Special Counsel
(518) 618-1229
mgoldberg@phillipslytle.com
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Tristan D. Hujer Partner
(716) 504-5728
thujer@phillipslytle.com
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Eric M. Kraus Partner
(212) 508-0408
ekraus@phillipslytle.com
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Ryan A. Lema Partner
(716) 504-5790
rlema@phillipslytle.com
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Craig A. Leslie Partner, Governing Committee
(716) 847-7012
cleslie@phillipslytle.com
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Amanda L. Lowe Partner
(716) 504-5747
alowe@phillipslytle.com
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Kenneth A. Manning Partner
(716) 847-7041
kmanning@phillipslytle.com
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PL-Bio-Profile-McNamaraDave
David J. McNamara Partner
(716) 847-5457
dmcnamara@phillipslytle.com
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Sean C. McPhee Partner
(716) 504-5749
smcphee@phillipslytle.com
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Kevin J. Mulvehill Partner, Governing Committee
(585) 238-2095
kmulvehill@phillipslytle.com
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James R. O’Connor Partner
(716) 504-5723
jo'connor@phillipslytle.com
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Paula Plaza
Paula P. Plaza Associate
(716) 847-8324
pplaza@philliplytle.com
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Michael B. Powers Of Counsel
(716) 847-5417
mpowers@phillipslytle.com
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Nicholas C. Roberts Associate
(585) 238-2031
nroberts@phillipslytle.com
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John Schmidt
John G. Schmidt Jr. Partner
(716) 847-7095
jschmidt@phillipslytle.com
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Joseph B. Schmit Partner
(212) 508-0481
jschmit@phillipslytle.com
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Mitch Snyder
Mitch P. Snyder Associate
(716) 847-8322
msnyder@phillipslytle.com
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Jacob Sonner
Jacob S. Sonner Partner
(716) 504-5733
jsonner@phillipslytle.com
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Rebecca Valentine
Rebecca A. Valentine Associate
(716) 504-5739
rvalentine@phillipslytle.com
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Preston Zarlock
Preston L. Zarlock Partner, Governing Committee
(716) 847-5496
pzarlock@phillipslytle.com
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Meet the Team
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