GUTKOWSKI v. STEINBRENNER
680 F.Supp.2d 602 (2010)
Robert M. GUTKOWSKI, Plaintiff,
v.
George STEINBRENNER III, Defendant.
No. 09 Civ. 7535(RJS).
United States District Court, S.D. New York.
January 26, 2010.
Neal Brickman, Ethan York Leonard, and Melinda May Dus, The Law Office of Neal Brickman, New York, NY, for Plaintiff.
Christopher Emmanuel Duffy and Michael Philip Favretto, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDERRICHARD J. SULLIVAN, District Judge:
Plaintiff Robert M. Gutkowski ("Plaintiff" or "Gutkowski") brings this diversity action against Defendant George Steinbrenner III ("Defendant" or "Steinbrenner"). Plaintiff alleges that after presenting Defendant with the idea of creating what ultimately became the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (the "YES Network" or "YES"), Defendant failed to abide by the terms of an oral agreement under which Plaintiff would "have a role in the network as long as it existed, or, otherwise[] be compensated for his efforts and contributions." (Compl. ¶ 1.) Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant "knowingly lied" to Plaintiff "in order to induce Plaintiff to give his unique idea." (Id.) Pursuant to these allegations, Plaintiff asserts common law claims under New York law for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, quantum meruit, and fraud in the inducement.
Before the Court is Defendant's motion to dismiss, with prejudice, Plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants Defendant's motion.Plaintiff describes himself as a "distinguished professional in the field of sports television, marketing, and management with many years of experience." (Id. ¶ 1.) Defendant is the "owner and the former principal owner and executive" of the New York Yankees ("the Yankees"). (Id. ¶ 3.)
1. Plaintiff's factual allegations are assumed to be true and all reasonable inferences are drawn in his favor. See In re Ades & Berg Group Investors,550 F.3d 240, 243 n. 4 (2d Cir.2008). 2. Both parties rely solely on New York law in their moving papers. Where the parties' briefs assume that New York law controls, such "implied consent" is sufficient to establish choice of law. Nat'l Utility Serv., Inc. v. Tiffany & Co., No. 07 Civ. 3345(RJS), 2009 WL 755292, at *6 n. 6 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 20, 2009). Accordingly, the Court applies New York law throughout this Memorandum and Order.
3. Plaintiff, in his opposition memorandum, argues that "New York courts allow part performance to cure any deficiencies of an oral contract." (Pl.'s Opp'n at 15.) Although New York law provides that certain oral agreements may be removed from the statute of frauds by the equitable doctrine of partial performance, the New York Court of Appeals has "firmly stated" that there is no part performance exception to § 5-701(a)(10) of New York's statute of frauds. Belotz v. Jefferies & Co., Inc., 213 F.3d 625, at *2 (2d Cir.2000) (unpublished summary order) (collecting cases); accord Alliance Media Group, Inc. v. Mogul Media, Inc., No. 02 Civ. 5252(SLT), 2005 WL 1804473, at *3 n. 1 (E.D.N.Y. July 28, 2005) (collecting cases); Sea Trade Co. Ltd. v. FleetBoston Fin. Corp., No. 03 Civ. 10254(JFK), 2004 WL 2029399, at *5 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 9, 2004) (collecting cases).
4. The Court rejects Plaintiff's argument that he has alleged facts sufficient to implicate the Second Circuit's opinion in Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. v. Recovery Credit Servs.,98 F.3d 13 (2d Cir.1996). In that case, the Second Circuit held that, to maintain a claim sounding in fraud alongside a breach of contract claim, a party must "(i) demonstrate a legal duty separate from the duty to perform under the contract; or (ii) demonstrate a fraudulent misrepresentation collateral or extraneous to the contract; or (iii) seek special damages that are caused by the misrepresentation and unrecoverable as contract damages." Id. at 20 (citations omitted) (collecting cases). Plaintiff's complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to satisfy any of these conditions. 5. A defendant may be estopped from pleading "the Statute of Limitations where [the] plaintiff was induced by fraud, misrepresentations[,] or deception to refrain from filing a timely action." Simcuski v. Saeli,44 N.Y.2d 442, 448-49, 406 N.Y.S.2d 259, 377 N.E.2d 713 (1978). In light of the fact that, according to Plaintiff's complaint, Plaintiff did not even meet with Defendant after March 1998, the Court finds no equitable basis for ignoring New York's statute of limitations.