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Parker Waichman LLP v. Squier, Knapp & Dunn Communications, Inc.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.
Apr 21, 2016
138 A.D.3d 570 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)

Opinion

04-21-2016

PARKER WAICHMAN LLP, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. SQUIER, KNAPP & DUNN COMMUNICATIONS, INC., individually and doing business as Knickerbocker/SKD, et al., Defendants–Respondents.

Parker Waichman LLP, Port Washington (Jay L.T. Breakstone of counsel), for appellant. Perkins Coie LLP, New York (Dennis C. Hopkins of counsel), for respondents.


Parker Waichman LLP, Port Washington (Jay L.T. Breakstone of counsel), for appellant.

Perkins Coie LLP, New York (Dennis C. Hopkins of counsel), for respondents.

Opinion

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Marcy S. Friedman, J.), entered September 4, 2014, which granted defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The complaint's boilerplate allegations that defendants disclosed confidential information, thereby causing harm, are too vague and conclusory to sustain a breach of contract cause of action (see Gordon v. Dino De Laurentiis Corp., 141 A.D.2d 435, 436, 529 N.Y.S.2d 777 [1st Dept.1988] ). Moreover, the complaint failed to allege how the alleged breach caused any injury (id.). Dismissal of the cause of action alleging breach of fiduciary duty was also warranted since plaintiff failed to plead it with particularity, as required by CPLR 3016(b) (see Berardi v. Berardi, 108 A.D.3d 406, 407, 969 N.Y.S.2d 444 [1st Dept.2013], lv. denied 22 N.Y.3d 861, 2014 WL 591241 [2014] ), and the claim was duplicative of the breach of contract claim (see Kaminsky v. FSP, Inc., 5 A.D.3d 251, 252, 773 N.Y.S.2d 292 [1st Dept.2004] ).

The court properly denied plaintiff's request for leave to replead, as plaintiff failed to submit a proposed amended pleading accompanied by an affidavit of merit (see Fletcher v. Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, 75 A.D.3d 469, 470, 906 N.Y.S.2d 212 [1st Dept.2010] ).

SWEENY, J.P., RENWICK, SAXE, GISCHE, KAHN, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Parker Waichman LLP v. Squier, Knapp & Dunn Communications, Inc.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.
Apr 21, 2016
138 A.D.3d 570 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)
Case details for

Parker Waichman LLP v. Squier, Knapp & Dunn Communications, Inc.

Case Details

Full title:PARKER WAICHMAN LLP, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. SQUIER, KNAPP & DUNN…

Court:Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Date published: Apr 21, 2016

Citations

138 A.D.3d 570 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016)
2016 N.Y. Slip Op. 3074
28 N.Y.S.3d 603

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