Weinreich v. Sandhaus

156 F.R.D. 60, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9012, 1994 WL 325408
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided June 30, 1994·No. No. 83 Civ. 3966 (RWS)·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

Plaintiff Stephen Weinreich (‘Weinreich”) and defendants Richard Sandhaus (“Sandhaus”), Science Faction Corporation (“SFC”) and Dick Sandhaus Productions, Inc. (“DSPI”) (collectively the “Defendants”) have brought various motions concerning the April 28, 1994 Opinion (the “Opinion”) which set forth this Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a). For the reasons that follow, the Opinion is amended. In all other respects, the parties’ motions are denied. Judgment shall be entered on the complaint in the amount of $89,824.57 with interest and costs.

Prior Proceedings

This action was tried before the Court for ten days, from January 5 to January 18, 1994. Thereafter, the parties made further submissions, concluding on April 22, 1994. The Opinion of April 28, 1994 followed, 850 F.Supp. 1169. Familiarity with this Opinion and all prior proceedings is presumed.

On June 15, 1994, the Court heard oral argument on the parties’ various motions, at which time they were deemed fully submitted.

I. Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Judgment

Plaintiff has moved pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 52(b) to amend the findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment. Although the Opinion did contain findings of fact and conclusions of law, it was not a judgment. While plaintiffs motion is premature, it nonetheless may be considered. See 9 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 2582. However, Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(b) does not permit a “party who failed to prove his strongest case ... a second opportunity by moving to amend____” Id.

Weinreich contends that the evidence established additional uses of the 2000 Systems after the summer of 1982, relying upon exhibits that indicate that for certain shows after this time the 2000 Systems were used, while for other shows the 360 Systems were used. Compare Exs. 41 and 42 (“SFC Model” designation). For many of these shows, there were corresponding contracts that indicated the amount the Defendants received. However, for other shows no such contracts were introduced into evidence. For these latter shows, the plaintiff has only estimated the amount the Defendants received and therefore has failed to carry his burden of establishing the amount of damages.

However, contracts were introduced that indicated that the Defendants received a specific amount for uses of the 2000 systems: the February 1984 show in Lafayette, Pennsylvania for $3,500.00; the May 1984 show in Chicago for $5,700.00; the June 1984 show at the Hoosier Dome for $11,000.00; the June 1984 show at Georgia World Congress Center for $18,000.00; the June 1986 show at the Grand Hyatt in New York for $9,350.00; the September 1986 show at the Bayfront Convention Center for $14,000.00; the November [62]*621986 show at Kaufmann’s for $15,000.00; the October 1986 show at the Palladium for $6,000.00; the November 1986 show at Smith Haven Mall for $16,200.00; the November 1986 show in Las Vegas for $18,000.00; and the December 1986 show in Pittsburgh for $19,800.00.1

The total income for these shows is $136,-550.00 and seventy-five percent of that total, $102,412.50, equals the net profit. One-third of the net profit is $34,137.50. Pursuant to N.Y.Civ.Prac.L. & R. § 5001(a) & (b) & 5004 (McKinney 1992) (“CPLR”), plaintiff is entitled to interest at nine percent. The interest is to be computed when the damages were incurred, “or upon all of the damages from a single reasonable date.” CPLR § 5001(b). For the 1984 to 1986 period, an appropriate date for the interest to begin to be computed is August 1, 1986.

Weinreich also attacks the failure of the Opinion to draw an adverse inference against the Defendants for not retaining pre-June 1982 backup documentation concerning the ledger entries, even though this action was not commenced until 1983. This documentation was discarded when the Defendants moved offices in May 1981, and for the following year the Defendants had inadequate record keeping procedures. No additional evidence is cited to alter the finding in the Opinion that the plaintiff failed to establish that the Defendants destroyed these documents for the purpose of preventing their use in this or any other litigation. Nor is evidence proffered to establish that such backup documentation would not have supported the ledger entries, or the schedule of allocations by product.

Weinreich’s remaining contentions have been considered and are hereby denied.

II. Defendants’ Motion to Amend to Correct Arithmetical Error

Defendants’ move pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 52, 59 and 60 to correct an error that the Defendants made in 1990. One of the Defendants’ employees allegedly failed to calculate certain figures correctly concerning income for the 2000 Systems, and Sandhaus did not check these calculations before submitting them to the plaintiff and the Court.

The Defendants’ motion is denied on several grounds. To begin with, the Defendants failed to comply with Rule 3 of the Civil Rules for the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Rule 3 provides:

Upon any motion, the moving party shall serve and file with the motion papers a memorandum setting forth the points and authorities relied upon in support of the motion ... Failure to comply may be deemed sufficient cause for the denial of the motion____

This case has been pending for more than eleven years. Failing to comply with the local rules at this stage in the litigation is inexcusable. Accordingly, the Defendants’ motion is denied.2

Defendants have moved under Fed. R.Civ.P. 60(b), which provides in pertinent part that: “the court may relieve a party ... from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; ... or (6) any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.”

The Second Circuit has ruled that it will not excuse a party under Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(1) whose gross negligence caused the mistake from which relief is sought. See Greenspahn v. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, 186 F.2d 616, 619-20 (2d Cir.1951). In Greenspahn, the defendant’s agent did not discover a mistake until shortly after the parties had settled their case by stipulation. The Second Circuit affirmed the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to relieve it [63]*63from the stipulation, and noted that the agent could have easily determined the mistake at issue three years before he discovered it. Id. See also United States v. RG & B Contractors, Inc.,

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

Weinreich v. Sandhaus, 156 F.R.D. 60, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9012, 1994 WL 325408 (S.D.N.Y. 1994).

156 F.R.D. 60 (Weinreich v. Sandhaus) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Nomura Holding America, Inc. v. Federal Insurance
45 F. Supp. 3d 354 (S.D. New York, 2014)
Troost v. Kitchin (In Re Kitchin)
327 B.R. 337 (N.D. Illinois, 2005)
Meadowbrook-Richman, Inc. v. Associated Financial Corp.
325 F. Supp. 2d 341 (S.D. New York, 2004)
Safe-Strap Co., Inc. v. Koala Corp.
270 F. Supp. 2d 407 (S.D. New York, 2003)
Grappo v. Alitalia Linee Aeree Italiane, S.p.A.
975 F. Supp. 297 (S.D. New York, 1997)
Pits, Ltd. v. American Express Bank International
911 F. Supp. 710 (S.D. New York, 1996)
International Customs Associates, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co.
893 F. Supp. 1251 (S.D. New York, 1995)
Algie v. RCA Global Communications, Inc.
891 F. Supp. 875 (S.D. New York, 1994)