On March 13, 2025, the First Department issued a decision in Fora Fin., Advance, LLC v. 4 Pillar Consulting, LLC, 2025 NY Slip Op. 01422, enforcing a liquidated damages provision, explaining:
Supreme Court correctly declined to consider whether the liquidated damages provision, called an Interference Fee, in defendant’s independent sales organization (ISO) agreement with plaintiffs constitutes an unenforceable penalty. The amount stipulated as liquidated damages is tied to the loan balance that would have been due to plaintiffs if defendant had not breached the terms of the parties’ contract and interfered with plaintiffs’ third-party loan agreements with merchants referred by defendant, as is alleged. In any event, liquidated damages provisions have routinely been held to be enforceable against sophisticated parties like defendant.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).