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Kastrat v. Wynnykiw

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Dec 28, 2004
13 A.D.3d 283 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004)

Summary

affirming order of summary judgment dismissing unjust enrichment claim against buyer where record established that buyer paid fair market value for property

Summary of this case from Bice v. Robb

Opinion

4999

December 28, 2004.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Louis B. York, J.), entered on or about January 13, 2004, which, in an action arising out of defendants' (sellers) sale of a building to defendant-respondent (buyer) instead of plaintiffs, and seeking, inter alia, to impose a constructive trust on the building, granted the buyer's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against it, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

Before: Buckley, P.J., Mazzarelli, Saxe, Friedman and Catterson, JJ.


Plaintiffs allege that they were induced to renovate one of the apartments in the building by the sellers' fraudulent promise to convey the building to them. When the sellers instead sold the building to the buyer, plaintiffs brought this action alleging, inter alia, that the buyer was unjustly enriched by the renovations and seeking, inter alia, to impose a constructive trust on the building. The action was properly dismissed as against the buyer for lack of evidence that it owed plaintiffs a fiduciary or other duty to disclose its higher bid for the building ( compare Sharp v. Kosmalski, 40 NY2d 119, with Scivoletti v. Marsala, 61 NY2d 806, affg 97 AD2d 401). Nor did plaintiffs ever have an interest in the building, a necessary element to a cause of action to impose a constructive trust ( see Sharp, 40 NY2d at 121). There was no unjust enrichment since, the record establishes, the buyer paid fair market value for the building. The mere fact that the sellers and the buyer knew each other, and that the buyer may have been aware of the sellers' alleged promise to convey to plaintiffs, is insufficient to impose liability on the buyer, a corporation that was not even in existence at the time of the alleged promise. While the motion court aptly recognized the possible merit of plaintiffs' claims against the sellers ( see Scivoletti, 97 AD2d at 402), as against the buyer, no amount of further disclosure can possibly avail plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' request to inspect the building, claimed to be necessary in order to establish their damages, was also properly denied. No reason appears why the appraisal performed by a licensed independent appraiser only one year after plaintiffs' renovations should not be adequate for these purposes.


Summaries of

Kastrat v. Wynnykiw

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Dec 28, 2004
13 A.D.3d 283 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004)

affirming order of summary judgment dismissing unjust enrichment claim against buyer where record established that buyer paid fair market value for property

Summary of this case from Bice v. Robb
Case details for

Kastrat v. Wynnykiw

Case Details

Full title:DAVID KASTRAT, Doing Business as DUGA PAINTING CONTRACTING, et al.…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department

Date published: Dec 28, 2004

Citations

13 A.D.3d 283 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004)
788 N.Y.S.2d 339

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