On October 3, 2024, the First Department issued a decision in Haart v. Scaglia, 2024 NY Slip Op. 04812, holding that a promise made without the intent to perform can support a claim for fraud, explaining:
Under certain circumstances, a promise made without the intent to perform can support a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation. Here, when plaintiff agreed to become EWG’s CEO, Scaglia’s promise to give her 50% of FHI was a promise about the future. However, plaintiff does not merely allege that she was induced to become CEO; she also alleges that she was induced to remain CEO without a salary or a contract for a fixed term because Scaglia, Feinman, and DDK kept reassuring her that she owned 50% of FHI — which, at that point, would be a misrepresentation of an existing fact.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).