IDEAL STEEL SUPPLY CORP. v. FANG

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

The Supreme Court properly found that the appellants failed to make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by eliminating all material issues of fact from the case ( see Winegrad v. New York Univ. Med. Ctr., 64 N.Y.2d 851, 853). It is well settled that agents or officers of a corporation may be held personally liable for their tortious acts committed in the performance of their corporate duties ( see Kopec v. Hempstead Gardens, 264 A.D.2d 714, 716; American Express Travel Related Servs. Co. v. North At. Resources, 261 A.D.2d 310, 311; Marine Midland Bank v. Russo Produce Co., 50 N.Y.2d 31, 44). The appellants, the sole shareholders and officers of the corporate defendants, negotiated the underlying transaction with the plaintiff. To the extent, if any, that there were misrepresentations made by the corporate defendants in connection with the transactions, the appellants "must have personally participated in such misrepresentations" ( Towjer, Inc. v. Tarran, 236 A.D.2d 518, 519; see First Bank of the Ams. v. Motor Car Funding, 257 A.D.2d 287, 291-292).

SANTUCCI, J.P., LUCIANO, SCHMIDT and COZIER, JJ., concur.