Opinion
2021-06807 Index 652931/19
12-07-2021
Donald Lewis, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP et al., Defendants, Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson LLP et al., Defendants-Respondents. Appeal No. 14793-14793A Nos. 2020-04754, 2020-04755
The Law Offices of Neal Brickman, P.C., New York (Neal Brickman of counsel), for appellant. Rivkin Radler LLP, Uniondale (Evan H. Krinick of counsel), for respondents.
The Law Offices of Neal Brickman, P.C., New York (Neal Brickman of counsel), for appellant.
Rivkin Radler LLP, Uniondale (Evan H. Krinick of counsel), for respondents.
Before: Acosta, P.J., Gische, Webber, Friedman, Kennedy, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Andrea Masley, J.), entered July 15, 2020, dismissing the action as against defendants Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson LLP and Michael Yim, unanimously affirmed, without costs. Appeal from order, same court and Justice, entered May 20, 2020, unanimously dismissed, without costs, as subsumed in the appeal from the judgment.
Plaintiff's claims against defendants Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson LLP and Michael Yim (collectively Putney) arise out of Putney's work leading defendant Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP's internal investigation into sexual misconduct allegations made against plaintiff by a colleague. The motion court properly determined that the complaint failed to set forth nonconclusory allegations of fraud, collusion, and malicious acts sufficient to support plaintiff's claims against Putney (see Estate of Schneider v Finmann, 15 N.Y.3d 306, 308-309 [2010]; Halevi v Fisher, 81 A.D.3d 504, 505 [1st Dept 2011], lv denied 16 N.Y.3d 711 [2011]; Benzemann v Citibank N.A., 149 A.D.3d 586 [1st Dept 2017], appeal dismissed 33 N.Y.3d 973 [2019]; Pursuit Inv. Mgt. LLC v Alpha Beta Capital Partners, L.P., 127 A.D.3d 580 [1st Dept 2015]).