Iannarelli v. Carvel Stores of New York, Inc.

18 Misc. 2d 930, 187 N.Y.S.2d 628, 1959 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3787
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedMay 4, 1959
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 18 Misc. 2d 930 (Iannarelli v. Carvel Stores of New York, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Iannarelli v. Carvel Stores of New York, Inc., 18 Misc. 2d 930, 187 N.Y.S.2d 628, 1959 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3787 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1959).

Opinion

Nicholas M. Pette, J.

Defendant moves for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to rule 112 of the Rules of Civil Practice, or in the alternative for summary judgment pursuant to rule 113 of the Rules of Civil Practice, as amended, effective March 1, 1959.

The plaintiff holds a dealer franchise agreement with the defendant a copy of which is annexed to the moving papers. By that agreement, defendant agreed, that so long as the plaintiff complied with all the terms of said agreement, defendant “ will not own, operate, or franchise any retail store for the sale of Frozen Dairy Products within one-half mile in a metropolitan area or 2 miles in a suburban area in either direction on 28-28 Francis Lewis Boulevard, Bayside, L. I., N. Y.” (Par. 12, emphasis supplied.) The agreement further provided that said agreement is deemed to cover a metropolitan area.

The suit at bar arises out of the aforesaid agreement. The complaint sets forth three causes of action. The first cause of action is for a reformation of said agreement so as to alter plaintiff’s exclusive area of operation from one-half mile in either direction from 28-28 Francis Lewis Boulevard on Francis Lewis Boulevard, as stated in the aforesaid agreement, to a one-half mile radius from plaintiff’s store. This cause of action also, alleges a purported fraud by the defendant in representing that the meaning of said provision was a one-half mile radius from the store, and that defendant had taken a survey of plaintiff’s market on the basis of one-half mile in every direction from his store.

The second cause of action is predicated upon alleged unfair competition in that defendant allegedly permitted certain motor vehicles and bicycles to be in plaintiff’s area and vend Carvel products, allegedly in violation of said franchise agreement. Said vehicles, being owned by Carvehicles Corporation, an independent corporation, which franchises them out to individuals. The plaintiff alleges that defendant controls and owns the Carvehicle Corporation.

The third cause of action, is also in the nature of unfair competition and for damages of $10,000 by reason of defendant having allegedly permitted the Carvel product vended from said motor vehicles and bicycles to be of inferior quality.

The new rule 113 of the Rules of Civil Practice, effective March 1, 1959, provides that after issue has been joined any party to the action may move for summary judgment, and that [932]*932such motion shall he supported by affidavit, by a copy of the pleadings and by other available proof, such as depositions, written admissions, etc. It requires, that the affidavit, by a person having knowledge of the facts must recite all the material facts, and it must show that there is no defense to the action or claim or that the action or claim has no merit, as the case may be; and it provides that the motion shall be granted if, upon all the papers and proof submitted, the action or claim or defense shall be established sufficiently to warrant the court as a matter of law in directing judgment.

The defendant has interposed a general denial of the material allegations contained in the complaint as to all three causes of action, and in connection with a motion for summary judgment a “general denial” has been held to constitute a defense. (Levine v. Behn, 282 N. Y. 120.)

Plaintiff has served a bill of particulars, and the defendant has taken the deposition of the plaintiff as an adverse party upon an examination before trial. Copies of said bill of particulars and deposition, as well as the franchise agreement are together with the pleadings and affidavits, defendant’s moving papers.

It has been held that the existence of triable issues of fact is not established merely by the allegations of the plaintiff’s complaint; to defeat defendant’s motion, plaintiff must marshal his proof and by affidavits containing evidentiary facts establish the presence of triable issues. (Pribyl v. Van Loan & Co., 261 App. Div. 503.) If defendant has, in the first instance, made out a case for summary disposition, plaintiff is then called upon to assemble and reveal his proofs in order to show that the matters set up in the complaint were real and capable of being established upon trial. (May v. Prudential Ins. Co., 93 N. Y. S. 2d 579, 581.)

' In his answering affidavit plaintiff admits that the franchise agreement provides for a franchise for one-half mile “in either direction on 28-28 Francis Lewis Boulevard ” and that at the time he signed the agreement, he was represented by an attorney who was present, but who, he now asserts, did not advise him at the time of the restrictive- meaning of the language used in the franchise agreement, which he now states he then believed was a franchise for an area surrounding his store instead of only one-half mile in either direction on Francis Lewis Boulevard from his store.

The plaintiff on his examination before trial also admitted that he was represented by counsel at the time the franchise agreement was entered into and executed, and that the agreement [933]*933was examined by him and bis lawyer, and that prior to February 25, 1957, tbe day tbe agreement was signed, plaintiff bad no conversation witb defendant’s secretary, Mr. Shallis, nor did be meet or talk witb anyone from tbe defendant corporation prior to February 25, 1957. He testified that no one forced bim to sign tbe agreement, and that at tbe time of closing be made oral demand that tbe agreement be reformed. He also testified, that on a single occasion, be purchased a product from a Carvel ” vehicle and ate it; be stated that tbe product be sold tasted better than that be purchased from tbe truck, which be stated was inferior.

This court is satisfied from tbe foregoing that plaintiff was apprised of and understood tbe restrictive nature of tbe agreement at tbe time be executed tbe same, when be made an oral demand for its reformation before be signed it. Plaintiff’s testimony on bis examination before trial unequivocally contradicts tbe statement be makes in bis affidavit on this motion, that at tbe time be signed tbe agreement be believed tbe franchise was for an area surrounding bis store instead of only one-balf mile in either direction on Francis Lewis Boulevard from bis store. In tbe light of tbe plain and unambiguous language used in restricting plaintiff’s area of operation and bis testimony above referred' to, tbe court is of tbe opinion that bis contention witb respect to said restriction on this motion is specious and without merit, and is patently a crude effort to raise a nonexistent and feigned issue.

Tbe alleged false representation is that tbe defendant stated to plaintiff that according to tbe agreement which was examined by both plaintiff and bis attorney, before be executed and accepted the same, tbe plaintiff would have an exclusive franchise of a one-balf mile radius about bis store. On tbe face of tbe pleadings and tbe plaintiff’s testimony on bis examination before trial, it is palpably evident that there can be no actionable fraud in that any reliance on any such alleged statement would be clearly unreasonable since tbe agreement with its clear and unambiguous terms was before tbe parties and there was therefore no suppression of any facts. Tbe alleged fraud does not relate to any external fact; rather it relates to what tbe terms of tbe contract were.

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Bluebook (online)
18 Misc. 2d 930, 187 N.Y.S.2d 628, 1959 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 3787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/iannarelli-v-carvel-stores-of-new-york-inc-nysupct-1959.