Seeking Successor Liability: Rent Applications of Schumacher Exceptions

In the seminal 1983 decision of Schumacher v. Richards Shear Co., the New York Court of Appeals identified four exceptions to the state’s general rule that an entity that acquires the assets of another company is not liable for the predecessor’s torts and contractual liabilities — exceptions whose contours continue to be litigated today. Partners Lara Flath and Julie Cohen and associates Kelly Guerin and Eleni Pappas examine two recent First Department decisions applying the Schumacher exceptions.