Opinion
2001-01891
Argued February 22, 2002.
March 18, 2002.
In a proceeding pursuant to SCPA 2103 to discover property allegedly withheld from an estate, Wilbur F. Breslin, executor of the estate of Robert Frankel, appeals from a decree of the Surrogate's Court, Nassau County (Riordan, S.), dated February 7, 2001, which, after a nonjury trial, dismissed the proceeding.
Shaw, Licitra, Bohner, Esernio, Schwartz Pfluger, P.C., Garden City, N.Y. (Steven H. Blatt and Douglas Burns of counsel), for appellant.
Koerner, Silberberg Weiner, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Joseph W. Ryan, Jr., of counsel), for respondent.
Before: ANITA R. FLORIO, J.P., SONDRA MILLER, LEO F. McGINITY, THOMAS A. ADAMS, JJ.
ORDERED that the decree is affirmed, with costs payable by the estate.
The Surrogate's Court properly determined that the release executed by Wilbur F. Breslin in favor of Adele Frankel-Loeb, the decedent's wife, as part of a settlement of various lawsuits, bound Breslin in his capacity as executor of the estate. It is well settled that a release is a contract and is subject to the laws governing contracts (see, Mangini v. McClurg, 24 N.Y.2d 556). It is equally well settled that with regard to the interpretation of a general release, "'its meaning and coverage necessarily depend, as in the case of contracts generally, upon the controversy being settled and upon the purpose for which the release was actually given'" (Tarantola v. Williams, 48 A.D.2d 552, 554, quoting Cahill v. Regan, 5 N.Y.2d 292, 299; see, Matter of Schaefer, 18 N.Y.2d 314, 317).
Breslin executed the release four days before his appointment as successor executor of the estate, in connection with the settlement of various lawsuits involving the affairs of the decedent. Under these circumstances, and based on the evidence adduced at the trial held pursuant to CPLR 3212(c), the Surrogate's determination was supported by a fair interpretation of the evidence (see, Binns v. Billhimer, 271 A.D.2d 562). The court correctly found that the release had no meaning outside the surrounding litigation, and therefore was intended to release all estate claims against Adele Frankel-Loeb.
Breslin's remaining contentions are without merit.
FLORIO, J.P., S. MILLER, McGINITY and ADAMS, JJ., concur.