On September 30, 2021, the First Department issued a decision in Gamma Lending Omega LLC v. Kaminski, 2021 NY Slip Op. 05165, holding that a guarantor is bound by a decision in an action in which the borrower, not the guarantor, was a party, explaining:
The court correctly decided these motions on the ground of collateral estoppel. Defendants’ issue, the validity of the late charge in the underlying loan documents, was squarely addressed both in the trial court in Minnesota and in a lengthy decision by the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and, as guarantors, defendants were in privity with the borrower (a party to the Minnesota action) on the underlying loan, whose obligations they guaranteed.
(Internal citations omitted).