AMICUS AI
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes
Docket Number
Attorney(S)
Judges
Are you a practicing lawyer?
Enhance your digital presence and reach by creating a Casemine profile.
Upload pleading to use the new AI search
Cites
Cited by
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes
Docket Number
Attorney(S)
Judges
Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

The plaintiff's husband was employed by the defendant Young Adult Institute, Inc. (YAI) for over 25 years and died in 2006 while still employed. Upon his death, the plaintiff became the successor beneficiary of his retirement and employee benefit plans, including the Supplemental Pension Plan and Trust for Certain Management Employees of YAI (the Plan), which provided monthly lifetime payments to the beneficiary. The plaintiff alleged that Joel M. Levy, YAI's CEO, orally offered an unspecified lump sum payment in lieu of monthly payments. After negotiations, YAI agreed to pay benefits via an annuity. The plaintiff signed a proposed release but added terms requiring YAI to purchase a commercial insurance product to fund the annuity, which YAI rejected. When YAI failed to purchase such insurance, the plaintiff sued for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.

Procedurally, the defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3211, and the Supreme Court, Nassau County, granted the motion. The plaintiff appealed this dismissal.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the plaintiff stated a cause of action for breach of contract based on an alleged oral promise and failure to fund an annuity with a commercial insurance product.
  2. Whether the plaintiff stated a cause of action for breach of fiduciary duty by the defendants in failing to purchase a commercial insurance product to fund the retirement plan.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Kurtzman v Bergstol, 40 AD3d 588, 590 Elements of breach of fiduciary duty: (1) fiduciary relationship, (2) misconduct by defendant, (3) damages caused by misconduct. The court applied this precedent to conclude the plaintiff failed to allege misconduct causing damages, thus failing to state a breach of fiduciary duty claim.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court accepted the plaintiff’s allegations as true but found no indication of a meeting of the minds on the material terms of the alleged oral promise to pay a lump sum or to purchase a commercial annuity, leading to failure to state a breach of contract claim. Regarding breach of fiduciary duty, the court referenced the required elements—existence of fiduciary relationship, misconduct, and damages caused by misconduct—and determined the plaintiff did not allege misconduct causing damages. Consequently, the fiduciary duty claim also failed. Remaining contentions by the plaintiff were either without merit or unnecessary to address given these determinations.

Holding and Implications

The order dismissing the complaint was affirmed, with costs.

The direct effect of this decision is the dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty against the defendants. The opinion does not establish new legal precedent or broader implications beyond the parties involved.

KATHLEEN RUT, Appellant, v. YOUNG ADULT INSTITUTE, INC., et al., Respondents.

Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.

The plaintiffs husband, an employee of the defendant Young Adult Institute, Inc. (hereinafter YAI), for more than 25 years, died in 2006 while still employed by YAI. At that time, the plaintiff became the successor beneficiary of her husband's retirement and employee benefit plans. One of those plans, the Supplemental Pension Plan and Trust for Certain Management Employees of YAI (hereinafter the Plan) provided a monthly income payment to the beneficiary for life. The plaintiff asserts in her complaint that after her husband's death, the defendant Joel M. Levy, the chief executive officer of YAI, orally offered to make an unspecified lump sum payment to her in lieu of the monthly payments that she was entitled to under the Plan. The complaint further alleges that, after negotiations, YAI agreed to pay the plaintiff her benefits in the form of an annuity. On or about December 28, 2007, the plaintiff received a proposed release, which she signed, after unilaterally adding additional terms to the release that required, inter alia, that a commercial insurance product be purchased at YAI's expense to fund the annuity. This additional term was rejected by YAI.

When YAI failed to purchase a commercial insurance product to fund the annuity, the plaintiff commenced this action against the defendants alleging that (1) although she released her claims against YAI in exchange for the protection afforded by the purchase of a commercial insurance product to fund the annuity, no annuity was purchased, (2) the defendants were required to make a lump sum payment to her in excess of $3,000,000 by virtue of an oral promise make by Joel M. Levy, the chief executive officer of YAI, and (3) the defendants Joel M. Levy and Philip Levy, as trustees of the YAI retirement plan, breached a fiduciary duty owed to her by failing to purchase a commercial insurance product to fund the plan.

The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3211. The Supreme Court granted the motion, and we affirm.

Accepting the allegations of the complaint as true, the allegations do not indicate any meeting of the minds with respect to the material terms of the alleged promise to pay the plaintiff a lump sum or to purchase a commercial annuity. Therefore, the plaintiff failed to state a cause of action sounding in breach of contract.

The elements of a cause of action to recover damages for breach of fiduciary duty are (1) the existence of a fiduciary relationship, (2) misconduct by the defendant, and (3) damages directly caused by the defendant's misconduct ( see Kurtzman v Bergstol, 40 AD3d 588, 590). The plaintiff did not allege any misconduct by the defendants that caused her to sustain damages. Therefore, she did not state a cause of action sounding in breach of fiduciary duty.

The plaintiffs remaining contentions are without merit, or need not be addressed in light of our determination.

Use AI to get other relevant cases.

Comments

KATHLEEN RUT v. YOUNG ADULT INSTITUTE
(Jun 1, 2010)