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Abrams v. Allen

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Jun 22, 1943
266 App. Div. 835 (N.Y. App. Div. 1943)

Opinion

June 22, 1943.

Appeal from Supreme Court, New York County.

Present — Martin, P.J., Untermyer, Dore, Cohn and Callahan, JJ.


Order granting motion of the defendant, James H. Rand, Jr., for summary judgment dismissing the second cause of action of the fourth consolidated and amended complaint unanimously affirmed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements to the said respondent. No opinion.

Order granting motion of the defendants-respondents to dismiss the third cause of action contained in the fourth consolidated and amended complaint as insufficient in law affirmed, with ten dollars costs and disbursements to the respondents. No opinion. (Untermyer, J., dissents in opinion and votes to reverse said order and deny said motion.)


Although the complaint is replete with irrelevant allegations it contains, I think, a sufficient statement of facts in the third cause of action to require a trial of the issues. It is alleged that the option price to the defendant Rand and others was reduced from twenty-five dollars to fifteen dollars per share without any consideration to the corporation. The circumstance that, at the time of the giving of the options and at the time of the reduction, the value of the stock was less than the option price is not decisive. An option to purchase stock may be of great speculative value, especially if it endures for a long term, even though the option price is greater than the value of the stock at the time the option is given. Surely, an option to purchase such stock at fifteen dollars per share is more valuable than an option at twenty-five dollars per share.

The order [granting motion for summary judgment dismissing second cause of action in the amended complaint] should be affirmed.

The order [granting motion to dismiss third cause of action in the amended complaint] should be reversed and the motion denied.


Summaries of

Abrams v. Allen

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department
Jun 22, 1943
266 App. Div. 835 (N.Y. App. Div. 1943)
Case details for

Abrams v. Allen

Case Details

Full title:BERNARD ABRAMS et al., on Behalf of Themselves and All Other Stockholders…

Court:Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, First Department

Date published: Jun 22, 1943

Citations

266 App. Div. 835 (N.Y. App. Div. 1943)

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