Opinion
February 25, 1992
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, J.).
Order of said court, entered September 4, 1991, which denied plaintiffs' motion for, inter alia, renewal, unanimously affirmed, with one bill of $250 costs and disbursements of these appeals.
Plaintiffs, both former officers and employees of Integrated Resources, Inc., a debtor in bankruptcy, commenced this action for breach of contract against defendants, non-debtor subsidiaries of Integrated, seeking to recover monies allegedly owed to them by Integrated. The IAS court properly granted summary judgment dismissing the amended complaint since each of the agreements which form the basis of plaintiffs' claims indicate, on their face, that the signatory was Integrated, by one of its officers, and not defendants, herein. Nor do the agreements purport to bind defendants. Where, as here, the identity of the parties to a contract and the obligations contained therein are unambiguous, parol evidence may not be offered to modify or contradict the terms of the writing (Kashfi v. Phibro-Salomon, Inc., 628 F. Supp. 727, 732; Namad v. Salomon Inc., 74 N.Y.2d 751, 753). In addition, the IAS court's incorrect reliance upon the doctrine of collateral estoppel, as one of several independent grounds for its decision granting summary judgment in defendants' favor, was harmless error and does not mandate a reversal (Ostrander v. Hart, 130 N.Y. 406, 414; Celeste v. State of New York, 15 A.D.2d 593). We have reviewed plaintiffs' remaining claims and find them to be without merit.
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Milonas, Kupferman, Ross and Smith, JJ.