Stevens v. Kings Village Corp.
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; December 1, 1996; New York; State Appellate Court
Kings Village Corp. successfully appealed a Supreme Court order denying its motion for summary judgment in a breach of contract case initiated by William Stevens, Ltd. The case arose from Kings Village's termination of William Stevens as the managing agent for an apartment cooperative. The written agreement stipulated that if Kings Village terminated William Stevens without cause before the three-year term expired, it would be obligated to pay management fees for the remaining duration. Kings Village argued it had cause for termination, citing Stevens' filing of an involuntary bankruptcy petition against the cooperative's sponsor, which contradicted the cooperative board's strategy to terminate the sponsor's proprietary leases. The court upheld that a principal-agent relationship requires the agent to follow the principal's directions as long as they are reasonable. William Stevens' actions were deemed disobedient to Kings Village's directives, thus providing valid cause for termination. The appellate court reversed the previous ruling, granting Kings Village's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the complaint against it, and severing the action against the remaining defendants.