Opinion
February 18, 1999
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Charles Ramos, J.).
We agree with the motion court that defendant's personal financial statement, which carried his debts to plaintiff at issue herein, constituted an "acknowledgment or promise" within the meaning of General Obligations Law § 17-101 Gen. Oblig., and was sufficient to revive plaintiff's time-barred claims on those debts (see, Clarkson Co. v. Shaheen, 533 F. Supp. 905, 932). Defendant misreads National Westminster Bank v. Petito ( 202 A.D.2d 193) in arguing that section 17-101 requires more than a mere acknowledgment of the debt and must be accompanied by a promise to pay; that case merely holds that where the promise underlying a claimed revival of a debt is subject to a condition, such as bankruptcy court approval, there can be no revival if the condition is not met. The record, which includes undisputed testimony that defendant had delegated to others in his company the duty of providing the updated financial information routinely required under his various loan agreements with plaintiff, establishes that defendant authorized his secretary to sign the transmittal letter covering the financial statement and to send those documents to plaintiff.
Concur — Tom, J. P., Mazzarelli, Andrias and Saxe, JJ.