Dickerson v. Kaplan

763 F. Supp. 694, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18779, 1990 WL 291975
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedAugust 2, 1990
Docket90 CV 228 (ERK)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 763 F. Supp. 694 (Dickerson v. Kaplan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dickerson v. Kaplan, 763 F. Supp. 694, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18779, 1990 WL 291975 (E.D.N.Y. 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KORMAN, District Judge.

Plaintiff alleges that she was induced by defendants to leave her employment in Ohio and relocate to New Jersey to accept the position of “General Manager and Chief Marketing Person” of defendants’ retirement community. She began work in December 1988 and was discharged on July 13, 1989 “without warning or notice.” She then commenced this action for breach of her employment contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and wrongful discharge. She relies upon an unsigned employment contract and four signed letters as evidence of an employment contract that was for an eleven-year term and terminable “for cause.” Defendants move to dismiss the complaint pursu *696 ant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) on the grounds that the breach of contract claim is barred by the Statute of Frauds, that the tort claims are incidental to the breach of contract claim, that plaintiff has failed to state a claim against Robert Kaplan and R.K. Associates and that plaintiff has not sufficiently stated a basis for the exercise of subject matter jurisdiction.

(I)

Defendants move to dismiss plaintiffs breach of contract claim as barred by the Statute of Frauds because, “[b]y its terms, [the contract was] not to be performed within one year from the making thereof” and “it or some note or memorandum thereof [is not] in writing, and subscribed by the party to be charged therewith, or by his lawful agent.” N.Y.Gen. Oblig.Law § 5-701(a)(l) (McKinney 1989). A motion to dismiss is inappropriate where, as here, the plaintiff has stated a claim for breach of contract, the defendants have asserted the Statute of Frauds as an affirmative defense and both parties have submitted evidence in support of their claim or defense. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b). Rather, the appropriate motion is one for summary judgment pursuant to Fed.R. Civ.P. 56 and defendant’s motion is treated as such, id., and denied for the following reasons.

Under New York law, the Statute of Frauds may be satisfied by a combination of signed and unsigned writings, “provided that they clearly refer to the same subject matter or transaction.” 1 Crabtree v. Elizabeth Arden Sales Corp., 305 N.Y. 48, 55, 110 N.E.2d 551 (1953) (citations omitted). The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that the rule announced in Crabtree “contains two strict threshold requirements:”

First, the signed writing must itself establish “a contractual relationship between the parties.” [Crabtree, 305 N.Y.] at 56, 110 N.E.2d at 554. See O’Keeffe v. Bry, 456 F.Supp. 822, 829 (S.D.N.Y.1978) (“To the extent that Crabtree permits the use of a ‘confluence of memorandum,’ the minimum condition for such use is the existence of one [signed] document establishing the basic, underlying contractual commitment.”). Second, the unsigned writing must “on its face refer to the same transaction as that set forth in the one that was signed.” Crabtree, 305 N.Y. at 56, 110 N.E.2d at 554.

Horn & Hardart Co. v. Pillsbury Co., 888 F.2d 8, 11 (2nd Cir.1989). The documents themselves must evidence a connection between the signed and unsigned writings:

Compliance with these threshold requirements may be decided by the district court as a matter of law, and must be considered without the introduction of parol evidence. “Parol evidence ... is immaterial to the threshold issue whether the documents are sufficient on their face to satisfy the Statute of Frauds.... ”

Horn & Hardart Co. v. Pillsbury Co., 888 F.2d at 11 (quoting Bazak Int’l Corp. v. Mast Indus., Inc., 73 N.Y.2d 113, 118, 538 N.Y.S.2d 503, 535 N.E.2d 633 (1989)). Once this threshold issue is met, by demonstrating that the papers sufficiently refer to “the same subject matter or transaction[,] ... oral testimony is admitted to show the connection between the documents and to establish the acquiescence of the party to be charged, to the contents of the one unsigned.” Crabtree v. Elizabeth Arden Sales Corp., 305 N.Y. at 55, 110 N.E.2d 551; see H.L. Fox Co. v. William Kaufman Organization, 74 N.Y.2d 136, 142-43, 544 N.Y.S.2d 565, 542 N.E.2d 1082 (1989) (“Parol evidence is admissible ... to connect the papers....”) (citing Crabtree v. *697 Elizabeth Arden Sales Corp., 305 N.Y. at 55-56, 110 N.E.2d 551).

In the instant case, plaintiff relies upon four signed letters, one of which was enclosed with the unsigned employment contract, as evidence of an agreement with defendants to employ her for an eleven-year term. Only two of these letters require extended discussion. 2

The first letter, dated June 1, 1988, is addressed to plaintiff in Ohio and signed by Robert Kaplan. It provides in relevant part:

After thinking about a proposal to you, I would like to offer the following:

1) Employee/Employer Contract, which I will have Linda [Kaplan] prepare.
2) Major Medical.
3) We will pay for your relocation expenses.
4) Base salary of $60,000.00 per an-num.
5) For every private resident who stays a minimum of four months, you will receive a one time bonus of $200.00.
6) For every semi-private resident who stays a minimum of four months, you will receive a one time bonus of $150.00.
7) We will, in the future, determine a base rate for private and semi-private residences. For everything over the base rate that you secure from each resident, we will share 50% of the increase for the first month only.
8) If you take in more than twenty (20) people per month, there will be a one time only extra $50.00 bonus per person.

Let me have your view points (sic) on this proposal, and if you find it satisfactory, we will have Linda [Kaplan] prepare a contract, which will commence sometime in the fall.

Affidavit of Marilyn Dickerson at Exhibit C. This letter contains an express offer of employment at a yearly salary of $60,-000.00 and is signed by the party to be charged.

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Related

Bose Corp. v. International Jensen Inc.
963 F.2d 1517 (Federal Circuit, 1992)
Dickerson v. Kaplan
963 F.2d 1522 (Second Circuit, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
763 F. Supp. 694, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18779, 1990 WL 291975, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dickerson-v-kaplan-nyed-1990.