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Guerra v. Astoria Generating Co., L.P.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 28, 2004
8 A.D.3d 617 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004)

Summary

holding that "a party that signs a document is conclusively bound by its terms absent a valid excuse for having failed to read it"

Summary of this case from Verizon Communications Inc. v. Pizzirani

Opinion

2003-10613.

Decided June 28, 2004.

In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the third-party defendant appeals, as limited by its brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Satterfield, J.), dated October 21, 2003, as granted that branch of the motion of the third-party plaintiffs which was for summary judgment on the contractual indemnification cause of action.

Thomas P. Gorton, P.C., Garden City, N.Y., for third-party defendant-appellant.

Ahmuty, Demers McManus, Albertson, N.Y. (Brendan T. Fitzpatrick of counsel), for defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents.

Before: A. GAIL PRUDENTI, P.J., DAVID S. RITTER, BARRY A. COZIER, PETER B. SKELOS, JJ.


DECISION ORDER

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

A party that signs a document is conclusively bound by its terms absent a valid excuse for having failed to read it ( see Da Silva v. Musso, 53 N.Y.2d 543, 550-551; Daniel Gale Assocs v. Hillcrest Estates, 283 A.D.2d 386, 387). In opposition to the third-party plaintiffs' prima facie showing that the third-party defendant signed documents in which it agreed to be bound by and acknowledged receipt of "General Conditions of Contract for Vendor Services" (hereafter General Conditions), a document that contained an indemnification clause, the third-party defendant's excuse that it never received the General Conditions and that its president, a sophisticated businessman, thought that the General Conditions mentioned in the documents he executed on behalf of the third-party defendant referred to instructions he was given as he walked around the premises prior to executing the contract, was insufficient to defeat summary judgment ( see Nissho Iwai Europe v. Korea First Bank, 301 A.D.2d 469, 470; Daniel Gale Assocs. v. Hillcrest Estates, supra).

PRUDENTI, P.J., RITTER, COZIER and SKELOS, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Guerra v. Astoria Generating Co., L.P.

Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
Jun 28, 2004
8 A.D.3d 617 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004)

holding that "a party that signs a document is conclusively bound by its terms absent a valid excuse for having failed to read it"

Summary of this case from Verizon Communications Inc. v. Pizzirani

In Guerra, the court held that defendant's excuse "that it never received the General Conditions" section of the contract that contained the indemnification clause, even though it signed other documents which referred to the General Conditions, was insufficient to defeat plaintiff's motion for summary judgment.

Summary of this case from Solow Mgmt. Corp. v. Rick's Painting Decorating
Case details for

Guerra v. Astoria Generating Co., L.P.

Case Details

Full title:EDGAR GUERRA, plaintiff, v. ASTORIA GENERATING COMPANY, L.P., ET AL.…

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

Date published: Jun 28, 2004

Citations

8 A.D.3d 617 (N.Y. App. Div. 2004)
779 N.Y.S.2d 563

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