NEW GOLD EQUITIES CORP. VS. JAFFE SPINDLER COMPANY, ET AL
A-0200-15T1
The court affirmed a judgment finding an indenture trustee's duties are limited to the obligations spelled out in the bond documents, and to associated non-discretionary ministerial functions. Accordingly, the indenture trustee had no duty to advise the mortgagor regarding the deferred interest provision in the bond documents. Furthermore, the Comparative Negligence Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1 to -5.8, did apply, and since the mortgagor's lack of familiarity with the terms of the financing agreement constituted negligence greater than that of the bank, the mortgagor could not recover against the bank. Finally, the bank was not entitled to counsel fees it incurred when defending against claims of its own ordinary negligence.
