Mitchell v. Hart

41 F.R.D. 138, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10640
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedOctober 10, 1966
DocketCiv. A. No. 66 Civ. 1150
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 41 F.R.D. 138 (Mitchell v. Hart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mitchell v. Hart, 41 F.R.D. 138, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10640 (S.D.N.Y. 1966).

Opinion

OPINION

HERLANDS, District Judge;

Defendants Charles M. Hart and Clemens J. Benvenga, individually, and Hart, Benvenga and Associates, a copartnership consisting of the above-named individual defendants, have made a motion for an order, pursuant to Rule 12(b) (6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, dismissing the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Alternatively, defendants have moved for an order, pursuant to Rule 12(f), striking several paragraphs from the amended complaint.

According to the allegations pleaded in plaintiffs’ amended complaint, which must be taken as true for purposes of this motion, the facts are substantially as follows:

Prior to 1963 plaintiff Terry, a licensed engineer, entered into a copartnership with defendant Hart, Benvenga and Associates, an architectural firm, “to furnish architectural, engineering and related services for projects located in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and elsewhere as may be agreed upon between the parties.” (Am.Comp. par. 8 and annexed Exhibit “A”.) In or about January, 1963, plaintiff Mitchell, an accomplished architect specializing in preliminary design work, entered into an oral agreement with Hart, Terry and Benvenga and defendant Hart, Benvenga and Associates for the joint solicitation of architect-engineering contracts. (Am. Comp. par. 10.) Agreement was had on plaintiff Mitchell’s share of the fee or profits, depending upon the size of the project, and on various other matters.

On February 11, 1963, the parties executed a written memorandum of agreement. (Am.Comp. par. 12 and annexed Exhibit “B”.) The instrument outlined Mitchell’s responsibilities as a consulting architect on projects jointly solicited, and specified his share of the fee and the schedule for payment thereof under various circumstances. The agreement further provided that major projects costing in excess of 10 million dollars would be executed as a “Joint-Venture association * * * on mutual agreement.” A division of profits for such [140]*140projects was specified but “financial arrangements” were left to be “mutually agreed upon.” The memorandum stipulated that “a complete legal agreement for this association will be prepared and executed before the signing of a client contract.” The concluding paragraph of the memorandum noted that “the above terms are based on projects involving joint solicitation with Mitchell and the use of his brochure and background.” Other terms were provided for projects “not involving joint solicitation and use of Mitchell’s brochure.”

* In a clarification letter from defendant Hart to plaintiff Mitchell also dated February 11, 1963 (Exhibit “B”), it was stated that “in the event an Agency of the Government or other client desires the association of our group (Hart, Terry and Benvenga and James A. Mitchell, Consultant) with other firms, under an expanded Joint Venture arrangement, then a separate arrangement, satisfactory to both Hart, Terry & Benvenga and James A. Mitchell will be made as regards their participation and interest with respect to each such Joint Venture project. All to be mutually agreed upon.”

Pursuant to the agreement, plaintiff Mitchell prepared and furnished to defendants a government architect-engineer questionnaire form and his brochure and resume describing his professional background. The defendants used these materials in soliciting, jointly in the name of plaintiff Mitchell and Hart, Terry and Benvenga, numerous government agencies and private builders. Mitchell and Terry likewise solicited projects for the group and, in particular, solicited work from the Post Office Department on Post Office facilities in New York City. (Am. Comp. pars. 14, 40.)

On or about June 12, 1964, defendants in association with Frank Grad & Sons (denominated the “Grad-Hart” joint venture) executed a contract with the Post Office Department and General Services Administration to furnish architect-engineer services on the 120 million dollar Murray Hill Post Office facility for a fee of 504,000 dollars. (Am.Comp. par. 15.) The defendants failed to inform either plaintiff of this agreement. After the contract had been signed, defendants, upon repeated inquiry by plaintiff Mitchell, represented that negotiations on a Post Office project were proceeding and that Mitchell’s interests were being protected. (Am.Comp. par. 17.)

Apart from the arrangements already noted, it is alleged on behalf of plaintiff Terry that his copartnership agreement (Exhibit “A”) with Hart, Benvenga and Associates was “extended by instruments in writing and oral agreement to include all projects embraced by this complaint.” (Am.Comp. par. 8.).

Each plaintiff claims the right to an accounting or, in the alternative damages for breach of contract.

I.

That part of defendants’ motion seeking an order, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b) (6), dismissing the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, is denied in all respects for the reasons hereinafter set forth.

In substance, defendants’ attack on the legal sufficiency of the amended complaint is two-pronged. On the one hand, they argue that the arrangements among the four parties were too indefinite to give rise to an enforceable claim on the part of plaintiffs in regard to the Murray Hill Post Office project. Alternatively, they contend that the alleged contractual relationship between the parties could not form the basis of a legally enforceable claim on behalf of Mitchell or Terry because Mitchell was not licensed to practice architecture in the State of New York until more than nine months after the Post Office contract was executed.

Plaintiffs resist the initial thrust of defendants’ attack by arguing that, notwithstanding its indefinite nature, their agreement gave rise to a fiduciary duty [141]*141on projects involving joint solicitation, and that this fiduciary duty was breached by defendants in their clandestine negotiation and execution of the Post Office contract to the exclusion of plaintiffs.

In opposition to defendants’ alternative claim of unenforceability under State licensing law, plaintiffs advance several arguments. Specifically, they contend that because the Post Office project is a federal contract, State licensing requirements are preempted by federal legislation under the rule of Leslie Miller, Inc. v. State of Arkansas, 352 U.S. 187, 77 S.Ct. 257, 1 L.Ed.2d 231 (1956). Furthermore, they argue, even if State law were to prevail, Mitchell would have been eligible for a temporary permit or could have otherwise lawfully performed services as an employee of the defendant partnership. Citing the recent decision of our Court of Appeals in Spanos v. Skouras Theatres Corp., 364 F.2d 161 (2d Cir. 1966), plaintiffs contend, therefore, that the claim is not unenforceable by reason of illegality because the arrangements were “susceptible of being lawfully performed.” Id. at 169.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Chappuis v. Ortho Sport & Spine Physicians Savannah, LLC.
825 S.E.2d 206 (Supreme Court of Georgia, 2019)
H/R STONE, INC. v. Phoenix Business Systems, Inc.
660 F. Supp. 351 (S.D. New York, 1987)
United States v. Conservation Chemical Co.
661 F. Supp. 1416 (W.D. Missouri, 1987)
Morris v. Gilbert
649 F. Supp. 1491 (E.D. New York, 1986)
Northern Trust Bank of Florida/Sarasota v. Coleman
632 F. Supp. 648 (S.D. New York, 1986)
Beth Israel Medical Center v. Smith
576 F. Supp. 1061 (S.D. New York, 1983)
Brubrad Company v. United States Postal Service
404 F. Supp. 691 (E.D. New York, 1975)
Zamora v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc.
336 F. Supp. 588 (S.D. Iowa, 1972)
Gleason v. Chain Service Restaurant
300 F. Supp. 1241 (S.D. New York, 1969)
Pessin v. Keeneland Ass'n
45 F.R.D. 10 (E.D. Kentucky, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 F.R.D. 138, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10640, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mitchell-v-hart-nysd-1966.