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Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer Euro Rscg Inc. v. Aegis Group Plc
Citations: 186 F.3d 135; 1999 U.S. App. LEXIS 9204; 1999 WL 543856Docket: 1997
Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; May 12, 1999; Federal Appellate Court
Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer Euro RSCG Inc. (Plaintiff-Appellant) appealed a judgment from the Southern District of New York that dismissed its claims against Aegis Group PLC (Defendant-Appellee) for breach of an oral agreement to assign a written commercial lease. The dismissal was based on the finding that Messner Vetere did not adequately invoke the "part performance" exception to New York's Statute of Frauds. The Second Circuit certified two questions to the New York Court of Appeals regarding the part performance doctrine: 1. Whether a claim that the plaintiff "took no action" regarding a written agreement, relying on an oral promise from the defendant to fulfill the plaintiff's obligations, is sufficient to invoke the doctrine at the pleading stage. 2. Whether the plaintiff's allegation of part performance solely by the defendant suffices to state a claim under the doctrine. The New York Court of Appeals responded negatively to both certified questions, ruling that Messner Vetere could not invoke the part performance doctrine to bypass the Statute of Frauds in this context. Consequently, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the complaint, concluding that Messner Vetere failed to state a claim as required under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The judgment of the district court was upheld.