Sagus Marine Corp. v. Donald G. Rynne & Co., Inc.

Citation207 A.D.2d 701,616 N.Y.S.2d 496
CourtNew York Supreme Court Appellate Division
Decision Date15 September 1994
PartiesSAGUS MARINE CORPORATION, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. DONALD G. RYNNE & CO., INC., et al., Defendants-Appellants.

Before SULLIVAN, J.P., and CARRO, ELLERIN, ASCH and TOM, JJ.

MEMORANDUM DECISION.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Beatrice Shainswit, J.), entered October 8, 1993, which denied defendants-appellants' motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment to plaintiff as to its right to an accounting and directed defendants to hold, in escrow, judgment proceeds secured in a separate action pending the accounting, unanimously modified, on the law, without costs, to the extent that plaintiff is denied summary judgment, and defendants are directed to hold one-third of the gross sum of the judgment proceeds in escrow.

In or about 1977, plaintiff Sagus Marine Corporation ("Sagus") entered into a joint venture agreement (the "Agreement") with defendants Donald G. Rynne & Co., Inc. ("Rynne & Co.") and Poten & Partners, Inc. ("Poten") pursuant to which they were to act as brokers and arrange for the shipment of concrete modules to the Middle East. The modules, which were designed for quick assembly into apartment buildings, were to be transported by Gearbulk Limited ("Gearbulk"), a Norwegian maritime shipping firm. The parties agreed to share the commissions earned from Gearbulk on an equal one-third basis.

In 1981, Gearbulk informed the joint venture that it would no longer pay commissions, which act defendants now claim terminated the Agreement. Defendants subsequently informed Sagus that they intended to sue Gearbulk for the commissions owed. Sagus, however, refused to participate in the action commenced by Rynne & Co. and Poten in August 1984.

Approximately 6 years later, defendants won a $4,000,000 judgment against Gearbulk, which was specifically awarded to Rynne & Co. and Poten as representatives of the joint venture. The judgment represented commissions earned by the joint venture prior to 1981. After a Special Referee found that Sagus could not maintain its own action against Gearbulk, the award was released into a joint venture account maintained by defendants in Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. In November 1991, Sagus commenced the underlying action for an accounting to determine the rights of the joint venturers with regard to the judgment.

Defendants subsequently moved for summary judgment asserting that the underlying action is barred by the six-year statute of limitations for an accounting because the joint venture either...

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4 cases
  • Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co. v. Bills
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court
    • 15 Octubre 2012
    ...(Gramercy Equities Corp. v. Dumont, 72 N.Y.2d 560, 565, 534 N.Y.S.2d 908, 531 N.E.2d 629 [1988];Sagus Marine Corp. v. Donald G. Rynne & Co., Inc., 207 A.D.2d 701, 702, 616 N.Y.S.2d 496 [1994] ).” (Eskenazi v. Schapiro, 27 AD3d 312, 314–315, 812 N.Y.S.2d 474, 476–477 [1st Dept., 2006] ). In ......
  • Scholastic Inc. v. Harris
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit
    • 14 Noviembre 2000
    ...when - the joint venture was dissolved is a prototypical fact question that a jury must determine. See Sagus Marine Corp. v. Donald G. Rynne & Co., 207 A.D.2d 701, 702 (1st Dep't 1994) (summary judgment improper because issue of fact as to when joint venture was Appellant's proof is shown t......
  • Lelek v. Verizon New York, 2007 NY Slip Op 31578(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 5/31/2007)
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court
    • 31 Mayo 2007
    ...Co., 25 N.Y.2d 412, 419 [1969]; see also, Gramercy Equities Corp. v. Dumont, 72 N.Y.2d 560 [1988]; Sagus Marine Corp. v. Donald G. Rynne & Co., Inc., 207 A.D.2d 701 [1st Dep't 1994]). Thus, an action may be brought against "all or any of" the members of a joint venture in their individual c......
  • People v. Jordan
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division
    • 15 Septiembre 1994

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