Opinion
October 31, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Colabella, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
Contrary to the defendant's contentions on appeal, the plaintiff's complaint adequately sets forth a cause of action for breach of the employment contract that was entered into between the parties. "The law is clear that if an employee is under contract to fill a particular position, any material change in his duties or significant reduction in rank may be treated by the employee as a breach of the contract" (Hondares v. TSS-Seedman's Stores, 151 A.D.2d 411, 413; see also, Rudman v. Cowles Communications, 30 N.Y.2d 1).
In this case, the plaintiff's uncontradicted allegation that the defendant's actions resulted in a material alteration of the executive duties and powers inherent in her position as the chief financial officer of the defendant corporation is sufficient to state a cognizable cause of action for breach of contract. Santucci, J.P., Joy, Krausman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.