June, 2008

Supreme Court Affirms Judgment Against Commercial Landlord

Gravel and Shea successfully defended a judgment of more than $230,000 in favor of a commercial tenant. When the tenant, a grocery store, was sued for eviction after it made improvements to its space, Gravel and Shea asserted a counterclaim for breach of contract by the landlord's bad faith refusal to meet with the tenant and confer over and approve fit-ups permitted under the lease. The trial court rejected the eviction claim and granted the tenant a judgment based on rents paid for the unusable space over several years.

On appeal, the landlord argued that it had no duty to work with the tenant on construction-permitting issues because the tenant had an unequivocal responsibility to conform its space to local zoning requirements. Attorneys Ross Feldmann and Robert O'Neill at Gravel and Shea successfully argued that the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing required cooperation on permitting issues. The Vermont Supreme Court agreed and affirmed the judgment.

Vermont Passes Law to Allow Digital Corporations and LLC's

On June 6, 2008, Governor James Douglas signed a new Vermont law which includes a number of provisions intended to authorize and encourage digital or virtual corporations and limited liability companies to organize in Vermont. To that end, the law is the first in the country to authorize companies to retain records in electronic form (with or without written hard copy), and to hold meetings and otherwise communicate with each other electronically. Peter Erly was actively involved in the passage of that legislation and is continuing to assist companies interested in taking advantage of these new digital business provisions.

Gravel and Shea Obtains Dismissal of Lawsuit Filed by Purchaser of Fake Artwork

The purchaser of a counterfeit Georgia O'Keeffe watercolor filed suit in New York against one of the nation's leading O'Keeffe experts, alleging fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of warranty, and six other claims. Representing the expert, Gravel and Shea litigator Andrew Manitsky moved to dismiss the complaint, arguing that the plaintiff did not have a valid claim under any of the nine legal theories alleged, and that, in any event, all claims were barred by applicable statutes of limitations. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed with both arguments, and on June 2, 2008, issued a 38-page decision dismissing plaintiff's complaint in its entirety.