Opinion
January 8, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Fredman, J.).
Ordered that the orders are affirmed insofar as appealed from, with one bill of costs.
It is well settled that punitive damages may not be awarded to redress a private wrong, and, accordingly, that such damages are not available "in the `ordinary' fraud and deceit case" ( Walker v Sheldon, 10 N.Y.2d 401, 405; see also, Garrity v Lyle Stuart, Inc., 40 N.Y.2d 354; Mom's Bagels v Sid Greenebaum, Inc., 164 A.D.2d 820). Punitive damages may only be recovered in a fraud action where the fraud is aimed at the public generally, is gross, and involves high moral culpability (see, Walker v Sheldon, supra, at 405). At bar, the gravaman of the plaintiff's complaint is that the defendants made fraudulent misrepresentations which induced her to accept employment with the defendant Defoe Corp. Although the plaintiff additionally asserts that these misrepresentations were repeated to members of the general public, the record is devoid of any indication that the alleged misrepresentations were aimed at the public, that any member of the public relied upon these misrepresentations, or that these misrepresentations caused injury to any individual other than the plaintiff. Moreover, the conduct alleged by the plaintiff has not been shown to be so "willful and wanton", outrageously immoral, or criminal as to warrant an award of punitive damages (see, Gilbin v Murphy, 73 N.Y.2d 769; Sforza v Health Ins. Plan, 210 A.D.2d 214). Under these circumstances, we find that the Supreme Court properly struck the claim for punitive damages asserted in the plaintiff's complaint, and denied her motion to amend her complaint to replead a claim for such damages. Thompson, J.P., Sullivan, Krausman and Florio, JJ., concur.