Fraudulent Inducement Claim Based on Defendant's Intention Not to Perform When Contract Made

On September 23, 2015, the Second Department issued a decision in Vision Accomplished, Inc. v. Lowe Properties, LLC, 2015 NY Slip Op. 06914, upholding a fraud claim, explaining:

The elements of a cause of action to recover damages for fraud require a material misrepresentation of a fact, knowledge of its falsity, an intent to induce reliance, justifiable reliance by the plaintiff, and damages. Here, the allegations in the complaint were sufficient to allege a material misrepresentation of fact, since the plaintiff asserted that the defendants induced it to provide certain services based upon promises that the defendants, unbeknownst to the plaintiff, had no intention of keeping at the time those promises were made.

(Internal quotations and citations omitted) (emphasis added).