Tauber v. Bankers Trust Co.

230 A.D.2d 312, 657 N.Y.S.2d 686, 1997 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5731
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 29, 1997
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 230 A.D.2d 312 (Tauber v. Bankers Trust Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tauber v. Bankers Trust Co., 230 A.D.2d 312, 657 N.Y.S.2d 686, 1997 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5731 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Sullivan, J. P.

On this appeal from the denial of summary judgment in favor of defendant Bankers Trust Company and cross appeal from the dismissal of the second and third causes of action of the amended complaint alleging breach of fiduciary duty and negligence, respectively, the issue is whether material issues of fact exist as to plaintiff’s claim that the bank improperly refused to close out certain foreign currency swap transactions between the parties.

Plaintiff, a sophisticated currency trader with Bankers Trust and other institutions, entered into an Interest Rate and Currency Facility Agreement, dated April 2, 1987, with Bankers Trust setting forth the general terms of their agreement with respect to foreign currency swaps. Each transaction, however, was to be governed and evidenced by a separate written or telexed confirmation concerning the terms of the particular transaction. Although currency swaps have a maturity date, that is, the date on which the transaction would have to close, plaintiff and the bank regularly terminated swap transactions [314]*314before the maturity date by creating offsetting or mirror image positions.

After several disputes had arisen between them, plaintiff and the bank, on May 8, 1989, entered into a written settlement agreement, which provided for the closing or transfer of most of their existing swap transactions, and effectively severed their relationship, except for their entry into two new foreign currency swaps sought by plaintiff as part of the settlement. These swaps are the subject of this lawsuit.

Under the first of these swaps (swap No. 1), the bank agreed to pay plaintiff on the maturity date, December 28, 1994, the principal amount of 35,000,000 Australian dollars (AUD) and to make quarterly payments of accrued interest thereon; plaintiff agreed to pay to the bank on the maturity date the principal amount of 41,237,000 Swiss francs (SFR) and to make quarterly payments of interest thereon. Swap No. 1 further obligated plaintiff to make additional quarterly payments to the bank of 125,000 SFR, sometimes referred to as the Swiss Franc Annuity, to the date of maturity.

Under the second of the swaps (swap No. 2), the bank agreed to pay to plaintiff on the maturity date, December 28, 1994, the principal amount of 15,000,000 AUD and to make quarterly interest payments thereon; plaintiff agreed to pay to the bank on the maturity date the principal amount of 17,673,000 SFR and to make quarterly interest payments thereon. Plaintiff’s obligations under the subject swaps were secured by a deposit of Swiss francs with the bank’s Zurich affiliate, Bankers Trust, AG. (BTAG).

The subject swaps could not be closed out, in whole or part, prior to their December 28, 1994 maturity date without the agreement of both parties. Each transaction was expressly subject to the terms of the Interest Rate and Currency Facility Agreement, which contained a clause rendering ineffective any amendment, modification or waiver of the agreement except by writing signed by the parties or an exchange of telexes.

In the spring of 1991, plaintiff advised the bank that he wished to close out the subject swaps partially. The bank was unwilling to do so but, as indicated in an April 29, 1991 letter from a managing director and counsel, Burton M. Freeman, to plaintiff’s counsel, Roger T. Scully, offered plaintiff the option of closing out the swaps in their entirety. Plaintiff’s response, by letter of July 11, 1991 from Scully to Freeman, was to propose again a partial closeout. Since the cross-currency rate between Swiss francs and Australian dollars at the time [315]*315favored plaintiff, a partial closeout would have entailed an immediate cash payment to plaintiff without any disposition of plaintiff’s obligation to pay the Swiss Franc Annuity. Accordingly, the bank, by letter dated July 30, 1991, rejected plaintiff’s partial closeout proposal and instead offered plaintiff the option "to fully reverse the two [subject] swaps and to require prepayment of the Swiss Franc Annuity on a discounted basis.” The bank’s July 30, 1991 letter also illustrated the cost to plaintiff if he accepted and were to exercise the option. For instance, based on July 24,1991 figures, plaintiff would have to make a $922,791 net payment to the bank since he would be required to pay $1,017,137 to the bank "to anticipate the Swiss Franc Annuity.”

On August 21, 1991, plaintiff called Freeman to accept the bank’s July 30, 1991 counterproposal with one condition: "that [plaintiff could] pick the date of termination.” By letter of August 22, 1991, the bank accepted plaintiff’s condition and, at plaintiff’s request, designated Christoph Schmidt as its representative to whom plaintiff could give his closeout instructions. In that same letter the bank stressed that "we expect [plaintiff] to specify a date of his choosing and instruct Mr. Schmidt to execute all of the transactions outlined in that [July 30, 1991] letter and to pay whatever sums those transactions called for in immediately available funds” (emphasis in original). According to the amended complaint, the terms and conditions set forth in the bank’s July 30 and August 22, 1991 letters comprise the agreement that the bank allegedly breached.

On April 16, 1992, Scully faxed a letter to Freeman confirming that the bank had "previously agreed to permit my Client to close out the [subject swaps] in [their] entirety” and requesting the bank to "calculate the cost of closing said position by entering into a reverse transaction at this time”. Approximately one-half hour later, Scully faxed another letter to Freeman advising him that plaintiff had decided against closing out the subject swaps; instead, Scully stated, "AIG [Trading Corp.] has agreed to substitute for [plaintiff] in the [swaps]”. Following receipt of the second Scully letter of April 16, 1992, Freeman had a number of telephone conversations with Scully relative to plaintiff’s proposed assignment of the subject swaps to AIG, including an April 21, 1992 conference call with plaintiff and Scully. At that time, plaintiff and Scully advised Freeman that plaintiff’s proposed assignment of the subject swaps to AIG was no longer an option because AIG required plaintiff to post collateral, which he did not have. Plaintiff and Scully [316]*316asked Freeman to ascertain the closeout price for the subject swaps and provide that information to Scully.

On the morning of April 24, 1992, Freeman telephoned Scully to advise him that a closeout would require a payment to the bank of $929,000. Unable to reach plaintiff, Scully, at 4:30 p.m., faxed a letter to Freeman apologizing for his inability to "make the link up with [plaintiff] today”, thanked Freeman for his "patience in this matter” and acknowledged that "this is an accommodation on your part.” Scully’s April 24 letter noted, "Apparently the market has moved against [plaintiff] since we last spoke. For this reason, [plaintiff] is unwillingly [sic] to close at this time. However, he wants to be sure that he can move quickly in the future if the market becomes more favorable.” Scully stated that plaintiff had "requested that [Scully] obtain the telephone number of the appropriate Bankers Trust representative he will be dealing with, or otherwise advise him of the procedure to be followed to arrange the closeout of the remaining position.”

Freeman responded for the bank by letter of April 30, 1992. Since Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
230 A.D.2d 312, 657 N.Y.S.2d 686, 1997 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 5731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tauber-v-bankers-trust-co-nyappdiv-1997.