Opinion
September 30, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Onondaga County, Stone, J.
Present — Denman, P.J., Lawton, Wesley, Doerr and Boehm, JJ.
Order unanimously affirmed without costs. Memorandum: Plaintiffs commenced this action against defendant New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC), seeking specific performance and damages for UDC's breach of an alleged oral agreement to grant plaintiffs an unrestricted easement, and against defendant Radisson Community Association, Inc. (RCA), seeking damages for tortious interference with that alleged agreement. Plaintiffs appeal from an order granting defendants' motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint in its entirety.
Supreme Court properly granted UDC's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs' cause of action against UDC for breach of contract is barred by the Statute of Frauds (see, General Obligations Law § 5-703, [3]). Plaintiffs have failed to plead or prove a written agreement by which UDC promised to grant plaintiffs an unrestricted easement. Moreover, plaintiffs may not avail themselves of the doctrine of part performance (see, General Obligations Law § 5-703; Walter v. Hoffman, 267 N.Y. 365; Scutti Enters. v. Wackerman Guchone Custom Bldrs., 153 A.D.2d 83, 87, lv denied 75 N.Y.2d 709; Gross v. Vogel, 81 A.D.2d 576, 577). Plaintiffs' performance, if any, was not "unequivocally referable" to UDC's alleged oral agreement (Scutti Enters. v. Wackerman Guchone Custom Bldrs., supra, at 87).
Similarly, the court properly granted RCA's motion for summary judgment. Because the agreement between plaintiffs and UDC is unenforceable, the cause of action against RCA for inducing a breach must be dismissed (see, Dung v. Parker, 52 N.Y. 494, 500-501; Huebener v. Kenyon Eckhardt, 142 A.D.2d 185, 192-193; Livoti v. Elston, 52 A.D.2d 444, 445-447; cf., Warner Bros. Pictures v. Simon, 21 A.D.2d 863, 864, affd 15 N.Y.2d 836; see generally, Guard-Life Corp. v. Parker Hardware Mfg. Corp., 50 N.Y.2d 183, 189-194).