A Fox Rothschild Real Estate Litigation team, led by Joshua Kopelowitz and Haq Qasim, secured summary judgment in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County Commercial Division, on a $4.6 million defaulted promissory note. The ruling defeated the personal guarantor's fraud-in-the-inducement defense and obtained an enforceable judgment for the firm's client, Lian Feng International LLC.

The team represented Lian Feng International LLC in a CPLR § 3213 motion for summary judgment in lieu of complaint against Rika Mason Real Estate Group LLC and its personal guarantor. The matter arose from the June 2023 purchase of a mixed-use premises at 147-12 Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, New York. After the defendants failed to repay the $4.6 million principal at the modified maturity date, Kopelowitz and Qasim moved for an accelerated judgment on the promissory note and unconditional guaranty.

The defendants opposed the motion, asserting that the plaintiff's principals made material misrepresentations concerning the property's real estate taxes and the imminence of Attorney General approval of the condominium offering plan. The court, applying the Court of Appeals' holding in Cooperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank, B.A. v Navarro, ruled that the guaranty's broad, absolute and unconditional waiver language foreclosed the guarantor’s fraud-in-the-inducement defense entirely. The court granted summary judgment against the guarantor and ordered that judgment be entered accordingly.

The ruling secures an enforceable judgment against the personal guarantor while the remaining claims against the borrower proceed, giving the client immediate leverage as the litigation continues.