You are here: / / PETITIONERS SOUGHT FUNDS THE DECEDENT HAD TAKEN OUT OF THE CORPORATION...
, , ,

PETITIONERS SOUGHT FUNDS THE DECEDENT HAD TAKEN OUT OF THE CORPORATION AS CLAIMS ON DECEDENT’S ESTATE, ALLEGING THAT THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS STARTED ANEW WHEN THE DECEDENT ACKNOWELDGED THE DEBT IN A DEPOSITION; THE STATUTE-OF-LIMITATIONS TOLL IN THE GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW ONLY APPLIES TO AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE DEBT IN WRITING SIGNED BY THE PARTY TO BE CHARGED, NOT TO THE QUASI-CONTRACT ALLEGED BY PETITIONERS (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Surrogate’s Court, determined decedent’s acknowledgement of a debt in a deposition did not start the statute of limitations anew because there was no written contract to which General Obligations Law 17-101 could apply:

In 2011, decedent removed funds from the corporate entity, and he later acknowledged that some of those funds belonged to petitioners. Decedent died in 2018 without returning the funds owed to petitioners. * * *

The tolling provision that the Surrogate relied on is General Obligations Law § 17—101. That provision states, in pertinent part, that “[a]n acknowledgment or promise contained in a writing signed by the party to be charged thereby is the only competent evidence of a new or continuing contract whereby to take an action out of the operation of the provisions of limitations of time for commencing actions under the civil practice law and rules.” Here, petitioners did not allege that they had a contract with decedent; rather, they alleged claims sounding in quasi-contract, which is “not [a] contract[] at all” … . Thus, General Obligations Law § 17—101, which applies only where there is “competent evidence of a new or existing contract,” does not apply here … . Matter of Reich, 2022 NY Slip Op 04446, Fourth Dept 7-8-22

Practice Point: In order to start the statute of limitations anew on a debt pursuant to General Obligations Law 17-101, the debt must be acknowledged in a writing signed by the party to be charged.

 

You might also like
Injury When Stepping Off a Ladder Not Actionable under Labor Law 240(1)—Injury Not Related to the Need for the Ladder
DEFENDANT’S VEHICLE WAS STRUCK BY A VEHICLE WHICH WAS BEING CHASED BY POLICE AND WHICH FAILED TO OBEY A STOP SIGN; DEFENDANT WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT; TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).
IT WAS (HARMLESS) ERROR TO ALLOW A POLICE OFFICER TO IDENTIFY DEFENDANT IN SECURITY CAMERA FOOTAGE (FOURTH DEPT).
RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR DOCTRINE MAY BE APPLIED BASED UPON A PRINCIPAL-AGENT RELATIONSHIP INVOLVING VOLUNTEERS, HERE PLAINTIFF WAS INJURED BY A LADDER WHEN VOLUNTEERS WERE PAINTING THE BUILDING OWNED BY THE DEFENDANT, POINTING TO GAPS IN THE OPPOSING PARTY’S PROOF WILL NOT SUPPORT SUMMARY JUDGMENT (FOURTH DEPT).
TO BE ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS TRAFFIC ACCIDENT CASE THE TOWN DEFENDANTS NEEDED TO DEMONSTRATE EITHER THAT THEY WERE NOT NEGLIGENT OR THAT THEIR NEGLIGENCE WAS NOT A PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT; BY FOCUSING ONLY ON PROXIMATE CAUSE, THE TOWN DEFENDANTS EFFECTIVELY ASSUMED THEY WERE NEGLIGENT; THE EVIDENCE THE DRIVER OF THE TOWN DUMP TRUCK WAS TRAVELING TOO FAST FOR THE CONDITIONS PRECLUDED SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THE TOWN’S FAVOR (FOURTH DEPT).
THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS ARE AMBIGUOUS ON THE ISSUE WHETHER COUNTY RETIREES WHO BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE ARE ENTITLED TO THE FULL MEDICAL BENEFITS AFFORDED THEM AT RETIREMENT, EXTRINSIC EVIDENCE, I.E., WHAT HAD BEEN DONE IN THE PAST, SUPPORTS THE DETERMINATION THAT RETIREES WHO BECOME ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO FULL BENEFITS (FOURTH DEPT).
ALTHOUGH SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTED DISCIPLINARY FINDINGS AGAINST PETITIONER, A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER WHO SLAPPED AN UNRULY STUDENT, TERMINATION WAS TOO SEVERE A PENALTY, TWO-JUSTICE DISSENT (FOURTH DEPT).
THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS INVOLVED WITH REVIEWING AN X-RAY OF PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S CHEST ON BEHALF OF DECEDENT’S EMPLOYER DID NOT HAVE A DUTY TO INFORM THE DECEDENT OR HIS PHYSICIAN OF THE CANCER FINDINGS (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

MOTHER WAS EXPERIENCING COVID-LIKE SYMPTOMS AND THE COURT RULES PROHIBITED HER... THERE WERE QUESTIONS OF FACT WHETHER THE ACCIDENT—THE COLLAPSE OF A DECK—EVER...