OLIVIERO INGRAMI, Respondent, v BRETT ROVNER, Defendant, and MARC ROVNER, Appellant.
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, Second Department
[847 NYS2d 132]
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for fraud, conversion, and unjust enrichment, the defendant Marc Rovner appeals from so much of (1) an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (McCarty, J.), entered January 12, 2007, as denied his cross motion pursuant to
Ordered that the appeal from the order entered January 12, 2007, is dismissed, as the order was superseded by the order entered March 22, 2007, made upon reargument; and it is further,
Ordered that the order entered March 22, 2007, is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof, which, upon reargument, adhered to so much of the original determination in the order entered January 12, 2007, as denied that branch of the cross motion which was for leave to amend the answer to add the defense of statute of limitations with respect to the
In February 2001, at the behest of the appellant, Marc Rovner, and his brother, the defendant Brett Rovner (hereinafter collectively the Rovners), the plaintiff, Oliviero Ingrami, allegedly transferred the sum of approximately $150,000 to the Rovners as an investment in a new business venture called Sterling Management Industries, LLC (hereinafter Sterling), which would act as a holding company for EMR Realty, Inc. (hereinafter EMR), a commercial real estate firm. According to the plaintiff, the Rovners misled and induced him to turn over the money by promising him an ownership interest in Sterling and other perquisites. The plaintiff alleged that to his detriment, he relied upon the Rovners’ representations, which they knew to be false and had no intention of fulfilling. The plaintiff further alleged that unbeknownst to him, in or around July 2002, the Rovners sold or transferred the assets of EMR, effectively ending Sterling‘s operations. According to the plaintiff, he did not learn of the sale until the fall of 2003 and did not receive any portion of the sale proceeds. Upon learning of the Rovners’ alleged misdeeds, the plaintiff demanded the return of his investment, as well as a share of the sale proceeds; the Rovners refused the demands. In June 2004, the plaintiff commenced this action against the Rovners alleging fraud, conversion, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment, and seeking an accounting. In early 2006, the Supreme Court granted that branch of the defendants’ motion pursuant to
Upon reargument, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in adhering to its original determination denying those branches of the appellant‘s cross motion which were pursuant to
Here, the appellant‘s proposed amendment adding the statute of limitations defense with respect to the fraud and conversion causes of action is totally without merit. Contrary to the appellant‘s claim, the fraud and conversion causes of action are governed by the six-year statute of limitations contained in
The Supreme Court improvidently exercised its discretion in denying that branch of the appellant‘s cross motion which was for leave to amend the answer to add the statute of limitations defense with respect to the unjust enrichment cause of action. Contrary to the plaintiff‘s contention, the three-year statute of limitations of
The parties’ remaining contentions either are without merit or have been rendered academic by our determination. Miller, J.P., Ritter, Santucci and Balkin, JJ., concur.