The public friendship dispute between Ron Perelman and Don Drapkin over $16 million dollars, in which a jury found for Drapkin after a trial in the Southern District of New York, reminds us that our legal system still is fundamentally ambivalent about whether friendship matters in the halls of our courtrooms.
Don Drapkin’s breach of contract complaint, filed three years ago, begins with a clear statement that his close friendship with Ron Perelman during the 20 years they spent working together should have some effect on the outcome of the case, some effect on how binding and how generously the text of a contract should be read.
