Greenberg v. Joffee

• Decision Date: 08 November 2006
• Docket Number: 2005-05720.,2005-11408.
• Citation: Greenberg v. Joffee, 34 A.D.3d 426, 824 N.Y.S.2d 355, 2006 NY Slip Op 8091 (N.Y. App. Div. 2006)
• Parties: ARNOLD GREENBERG, Appellant, v. NEIL JOFFEE et al., Respondents, et al., Defendant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

34 A.D.3d 426

824 N.Y.S.2d 355

2006 NY Slip Op 08091

ARNOLD GREENBERG, Appellant, v. NEIL JOFFEE et al., Respondents, et al., Defendant.

2005-05720.

2005-11408.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Second Department.

Decided November 8, 2006.

In an action to recover damages for breach of fiduciary duty and to rescind a contract for the sale of real property, the plaintiff appeals from (1) an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County (Burke, J.), dated May 5, 2005, which granted the motion of the defendant Neil Joffee for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against him and for summary judgment on his counterclaim for specific performance of the contract, and granted the separate motion of the defendants Lawrence Porter and Resort Properties, Inc., for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against them, and (2) a judgment of the same court entered May 26, 2005, which, upon the order, is in favor of the defendant Neil Joffee and against him, dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against that defendant and directing him to specifically perform the contract.

Ordered that the appeal from so much of the order as granted the motion of the defendant Neil Joffee for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against him and for summary judgment on his counterclaim for specific performance of the contract is dismissed; and it is further,

Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as reviewed; and it is further,

Ordered that the judgment is affirmed; and it is further,

Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the respondents appearing separately and filing separate briefs.

The appeal from so much of the intermediate order as granted the motion of the respondent Neil Joffee for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against him and for summary judgment on his counterclaim for specific performance of the contract must be dismissed because the right of direct appeal therefrom terminated with the entry of judgment in the action (see Matter of Aho, 39 NY2d 241, 248 [1976]). The issues raised on appeal from that portion of the order are brought up for review and have been considered on the appeal from the judgment (see CPLR 5501 [a] [1]).

The Supreme Court properly granted summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against the respondents. To succeed on a cause of action to recover damages for breach of fiduciary duty, a plaintiff must do more than make allegations of unscrupulous acts. "[T]he proponent of a claim for a breach of fiduciary duty must, at a minimum, establish that the offending parties' actions were `a substantial factor' in causing an identifiable loss" (Gibbs v Breed, Abbott & Morgan, 271 AD2d 180, 189 [2000], quoting Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy v Boon, 13 F3d 537, 543 [1994]). A plaintiff must provide evidence to establish that the alleged "misconduct [was] the direct and proximate cause of the losses claimed" (Laub v Faessel, 297 AD2d 28, 30 [2002]). There must "be some reasonable connection between the act or omission of the defendant and the damage which the plaintiff has suffered" (id. at 31, quoting Prosser and Keeton, Torts § 41, at 263 [5th ed]).

The respondents established, prima facie, that the plaintiff Arnold Greenberg, as administrator of the estate of Michael Greenberg, had instructed the respondents Lawrence Porter and Resort Properties, Inc. (hereinafter Resort), to list the estate's real property at a lower price than that recommended by Porter, to secure a quick sale. In opposition, the plaintiff submitted the affidavit of...