Another NY Supreme Court Judge Casts Doubt On The MFS – Volunteer Pharmacy Case

Just as an Orange County, NY judge found in Merchant Funding Services, LLC v. Micromanos Corporation d/b/a Micromanos and Astsumassa Tochisako that a uniquely structured merchant cash advance was not a criminally usurious loan, so too did the Honorable Maria S. Vazquez-Doles on June 8th, court records reveal. Vazquez-Doles, who also presides in Orange County, concurred that the attorney representing defendants in Yellowstone Capital LLC v M N B Waterford LLC d/b/a MAC N’ Brewz! Mac N.Cheez! LLC d/b/a Mac N’Cheez! Somerset and Gary E Sussman, misquoted the contract’s language in their motion papers to suit their argument that the agreement was in fact a loan. In her decision, she referred to defendants’ attempt to twist the words as “incomplete and palpably misleading.”

“The Agreement is not on its face and as a matter of law a criminally usurious loan,” she held.

This is the second judge to opine that the decision in Merchant Funding Services, LLC v. Volunteer Pharmacy Inc. was premised on the opposition palpably misquoting an addendum to the contract in their motion papers. The first was the Honorable Catherine M. Bartlett last month.

The weight of the Volunteer Pharmacy case to a cottage industry of attorneys hoping to argue that merchant cash advances are disguised loans, is rapidly declining. The actual language of the these particular contracts has now twice exonerated the merchant cash advance companies.

The Yellowstone case decided on June 8th is filed under Index Number: EF001264-2017.

Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.