What Does It Mean to be Deceptive or Misleading in a Guaranty?

Have you ever wondered if you were tricked or duped into signing a guaranty or now feel surprised by some hidden terms you didn’t know about when you signed? Well, here is the standard in New York to determine if there was any deceptive or misleading conduct that may get you off the hook:

“A contract of guaranty is ‘one in which the guarantor is entitled to a full disclosure of every point which would be likely to bear upon his disposition to enter it.’” First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Utica v. Sherman’s Estate, 250 A.D. 339, 345 (4th Dept. 1937). (citing, Barns v. Barrow, 61 N.Y. 39, 42 (1874). A fraudulent claim “may be predicated on acts of concealment where the defendant had a duty to disclose material information.” Kaufman v. Cohen, 307 A.D.2d 113 (1st Dept. 2003). A lender possesses a duty to disclose this information to the Defendants since it possessed “superior knowledge of essential facts (that rendered the) transaction without disclosure inherently unfair.” P.T. Bank Cent. Asia v. ABN AMRO Bank N.V., 301 A.D.2d 373, 378 (1st Dept. 2003).

“A creditor can not recover from a guarantor where the creditor has practiced any fraud to induce the guarantor to assume the obligation of guaranty.” Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Kalkstein, 101 A.D.2d 102, 105 (1st Dept. 1984). A lender’s failure to disclose such an integral condition to the loan agreement, one which would have directly affected the decision to guarantee the debt, is a deception and fraudulent practice.

 

If you have any legal questions or need help with a deception and misleading guaranty, please contact Attorney Scott Lanin at (212) 764-7250 x 201 or use the contact form in the right sidebar.