DEFENDANT’S EMPLOYER (TOMS) WAS NOT LIABLE FOR THE ACTS OF DEFENDANT EMPLOYEE (ROSNER) WHICH WERE NOT DONE WITHIN THE SCOPE OF ROSNER’S EMPLOYMENT OR TO FURTHER TOMS’ BUSINESS (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that defendant Rosner, an employee of defendant TOMS Capital Management, was clearly not acting within the scope of his employment with TOMS when advising plaintiff on investments, allegedly as part of a scheme to deplete plaintiff’s assets. Therefore plaintiff’s unjust enrichment and negligence causes of action against TOMS based upon respondeat superior should have been dismissed:
In or about June 2020, Rosner allegedly began an affair with plaintiff’s wife. They then allegedly conspired to develop a scheme to deplete plaintiff’s assets. In furtherance of this scheme, Rosner began to advise plaintiff to invest in high-risk stock options which Rosner knew were not suitable for plaintiff and would not be profitable for him. Plaintiff followed the advice and sustained trading losses in excess of $300,000. Plaintiff alleges that this investment advice was part of a scheme by TOMS and Rosner to “better position the stock options,” in which TOMS was also allegedly participating, to benefit TOMS and Rosner and their clients.
The motion court incorrectly determined that the allegations in the complaint sufficiently supported claims for unjust enrichment and negligence against TOMS under a theory of respondeat superior. Even construed in the light most favorable to plaintiff … , the alleged acts by Rosner clearly were not made within the scope of his employment or in furtherance of TOMS’s business, but rather, for his own personal gain … . Courtois v TOMS Capital Mgt. LP, 2022 NY Slip Op 06545, First Dept 11-17-22
Practice Point: Here defendant allegedly gave investment advice to plaintiff which was designed to deplete plaintiff’s assets. Because defendant’s acts were not done within the scope of his employment the unjust enrichment and negligence causes of action against defendant’s employer, pursuant to the doctrine of respondeat superior, should have been dismissed.
