Yonkers Avenue Dodge, Inc. v. BZ Results, LLC

Citations: 95 A.D.3d 774; 945 N.Y.S.2d 280

Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; May 31, 2012; New York; State Appellate Court

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The Supreme Court of Bronx County, in an order entered on July 21, 2011, modified the previous decision to grant the defendant’s unopposed motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim and to grant summary judgment on the defendant’s first and second counterclaims regarding liability only. The plaintiff, a car dealership owner, had entered into a 36-month agreement with the defendant, a digital marketing consultant firm, to create a website and marketing system, for which the plaintiff was to pay monthly fees.

The court found that the defendant had met its burden to show entitlement to summary judgment by providing the contract, billing records, and an affidavit from an officer affirming that the defendant had fulfilled its obligations and had not received the required payments from the plaintiff. The court determined that the evidence presented by the defendant established a prima facie case, and the plaintiff’s unsigned and unsworn letter claiming the defendant's inability to fulfill contractual obligations lacked probative value and did not create a factual question.

Regarding the defendant’s counterclaims for breach of contract and related damages, the court ruled that while the contract’s termination provisions were not ambiguous, the defendant failed to prove entitlement to specific damages or the reasonableness of the claimed attorneys’ fees. As a result, the defendant was granted summary judgment on the counterclaims only as to liability, not for a specific monetary award. The decision affirmed the overall ruling with no costs awarded.