Professional Insurance v. Barry

60 Misc. 2d 424, 303 N.Y.S.2d 556, 1969 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1837
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 15, 1969
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 60 Misc. 2d 424 (Professional Insurance v. Barry) 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
Professional Insurance v. Barry, 60 Misc. 2d 424, 303 N.Y.S.2d 556, 1969 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1837 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1969).

Opinion

Morris E. Spector, J.

Motions numbered 72 and 73 on the calendar of December 27,1968, are consolidated for decision and disposed of as follows:

The third-party plaintiff, Robert Chaut, hereinafter referred to as “ Chaut ”, moves for an order pursuant to section 725 of [425]*425the Business Corporation Law awarding him his reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, during the pendency of the litigation as are necessary in connection with his defense herein and directing third-party defendant M. A. Schapiro & Co., Inc., hereinafter referred to as “ Schapiro ’ ’, to pay him the sum of $15,000 as an interim allowance towards such expenses. Schapiro cross-moves for an order, pursuant to CPLR 3211, for judgment dismissing the third-party complaint as to it on the ground that said complaint fails to state a cause of action against Schapiro.

This action was instituted by Professional Insurance Company of New York, hereinafter referred to as “ Professional ”, a New York insurance corporation, against Ghaut, a former director, and 13 other former directors, for an accounting and damages arising from alleged breaches of their fiduciary duties to Professional. Defendant 1 ‘ Ghaut ’ ’, in his answer, denied the substantive allegations of the complaint, asserted several affirmative defenses, and set forth a counterclaim for indemnification from plaintiff. Thereafter he served a third-party complaint against Schapiro and others, asserting as to Schapiro a claim under sections 723 and 725 of the Business Corporation Law for indemnification “ against judgments, fines, amounts paid in reasonable settlement and reasonable expenses, including attorneys ’ fees actually and necessarily incurred, as a result of plaintiff’s action and any appeal therein ”.

Subdivision (a) of section 725 of the Business Corporation Law states: 1 ‘ Notwithstanding the failure of a corporation to provide indemnification, and despite any contrary resolution of the board or of the shareholders in the specific case under section 724 (Payment of indemnification other than by court award), indemnification shall be awarded by a court to the extent authorized under sections 722 (Authorization for indemnification of directors and officers in actions by or in the right of a corporation to procure a judgment in its favor), 723 (Authorization for indemnification of directors and officers in actions or proceedings other than by or in the right of a corporation to procure a judgment in its favor), and paragraph (a) of section 724.”

Subdivision (c) provides: “Where indemnification is sought by judicial action, the court may allow a person such reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, during the pendency of the litigation as are necessary in connection with his defense therein, if the court shall find that the defendant has by his pleadings or during the course of the litigation raised genuine issues of fad or lem ”, (Emphasis supplied,)

[426]*426Third-party defendant Schapiro strenuously contends that section 723 of the Business Corporation Law cannot be applied, as this case involves a suit whereby a director (Chaut) is sued by a corporation (Professional) for breach of his fiduciary duties to the corporation. Schapiro also argues that sections 722 and 723 of the Business Corporation Law are mutually exclusive and that Chant’s right to indemnification, if any, is only to plaintiff Professional, based on said section 722. An analysis of the pertinent provisions of the said sections and the legislative history of same compel a contrary conclusion under the circumstances herein.

Subdivision (a) of section 723 of the Business Corporation Law, reads: “A corporation may indemnify any person, made or threatened to be made, a party to an action or proceeding other them one by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor, whether civil or criminal, including an action by or in the right of any other corporation * * * which any director or officer of the corporation served in any capacity at the request of the corporation, by reason of the fact that he * # * was a director or officer of the corporation, or served such other corporation in any capacity, against judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees actually and necessarily incurred as a result of such action or proceeding, or any appeal therein, if such director or officer acted, in good faith, for a purpose which he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation ’ ’.

This section is completely new. As noted in the Legislative Studies and Reports on section 723 (McKinney’s Cons. Laws of N. Y., Book 6, Business Corporation Law, p. 937), its purpose ‘1 is to codify the common law principle that directors or officers are reimbursable by the corporation for expenses incurred and amounts paid in the defense of actions or proceedings other than derivative actions ” (actions by or in the right of a corporation to procure a judgment in its favor). Commenting on the Business Corporation Law, Professor Samuel Hoffman, who served as a Drafting Consultant to the New York Joint Legislative Committee to Study Revision of Corporation Laws, observed that “ The new law authorizes indemnification of directors and officers in both derivative (Section 722) and non-derivative (Section 723) categories * * * Section 723 is a new formulation for this state. It affords indemnification rights to directors and officers charged in non-derivative actions or proceedings with tortious or criminal conduct, breach of contract or the like, that has resulted from activity in the course [427]*427of employment, undertaken for the benefit of the corporation ”. (Hoffman, Status of Shareholders and Directors Under New York’s Business Corporation Law: A Comparative View, 11 Buffalo L. Rev. 496, 573-574 [1962].)

Giving full effect to the language utilized in section 723, this court determines that it is applicable to so-called 1 derivative suits ”. The clause “ including an action by or in the right of cmy other corporation * * * which any director or officer of the corporation served in any capacity at the request of the corporation” (Business Corporation Law, § 723, subd. [a]; emphasis supplied), clearly warrants this result. Such statutory construction is further buttressed by the careful use of the phrase ‘ ‘ the corporation ’ ’ when referring to the party against which indemnification is sought and of the phrase “ any other corporation ” when referring to the third party asserting the claim. Any allowance by the court of such reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, during the pendency of the litigation as are necessary in connection with the person’s defense therein, must be repaid under section 726 of the Business Corporation Law, where the person is ultimately found not to be so entitled to indemnification.

The fact that Chaut also seeks indemnification from plaintiff corporation pursuant to section 722 does not deprive him of availing himself of any rights he may have under section 723 to indemnification from Schapiro. No authority for such a contrary conclusion may be gleaned either explicitly or implicitly from the aforesaid sections.

Third-party defendant Schapiro next asserts that Chaut has failed to raise ‘1 genuine issues of fact or law ’ ’ as required by subdivision (c) of section 725 of the Business Corporation Law. This contention is untenable.

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60 Misc. 2d 424, 303 N.Y.S.2d 556, 1969 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1837, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/professional-insurance-v-barry-nysupct-1969.