Court Opinion

ID: 9929183
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-01 21:08:14.822968+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:06:03.453532
License: Public Domain

Prosight Specialty Mgt. Co., Inc. v Altruis Group,
                          LLC
               2024 NY Slip Op 30329(U)
                     January 26, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 653775/2023
                  Judge: Andrew Borrok
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
 Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York
 State and local government sources, including the New
  York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.
 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                       publication.
                                                                                                                        INDEX NO. 653775/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 26                                                                                              RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/26/2024

            SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
            COUNTY OF NEW YORK: COMMERCIAL DIVISION PART 53
            ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

             PROSIGHT SPECIAL TY MANAGEMENT COMPANY,                                                INDEX NO.         653775/2023
             INC.,NEW YORK MARINE AND GENERAL INSURANCE
             COMPANY,GOTHAMINSURANCECOMPANY
                                                                                                    MOTION DATE        09/27/2023
                                                          Plaintiff,
                                                                                                    MOTION SEQ. NO.        001
                                                - V -

             ALTRUIS GROUP, LLC,                                                                      DECISION+ ORDER ON
                                                                                                            MOTION
                                                          Defendant.

            ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X

            HON. ANDREW BORROK:

            The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
            13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
            were read on this motion to/for                                                         DISMISS

            Upon the foregoing documents, Prosight Specialty Management Company, Inc., New York

            Marine and General Insurance Company, and Gotham Insurance Company (collectively, the

            Plaintiffs)'s motion (Mtn. Seq. No. 001) is granted and Altruis Group, LLC (the Defendant)'s

            counterclaims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing and the

            declaratory judgment counterclaims are dismissed.

            Much of what is at issue in this motion was addressed by the court (Vyskocil, J.) in a prior

            decision (the SDNY Decision; NYSCEF Doc. No. 14) issued in a related action (the SDNY

            Action) captionedAltruis Grp. v. Prosight Specialty Mgmt. Co., 1:21-cv-10757 (SD NY Feb. 27,

            2023).

             653775/2023 PROSIGHT SPECIAL TY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC. ET AL vs. AL TRUIS                                Page 1 of4
             GROUP, LLC
             Motion No. 001

                                                                            1 of 4
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                                                                                                  INDEX NO. 653775/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 26                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/26/2024

            Reference is made to a certain Niche Management Agreement (the Original Agreement;

            NYSCEF Doc. No. 9), dated February 4, 2020, as amended by a certain Amendment to Niche

            Management Agreement (the Amendment; the Original Agreement together with the

            Amendment, hereinafter, collectively, the Agreement; NYSCEF Doc. No. 10), dated May 4,

            2020, by and among the Defendant, ProSight Specialty Management Company, Inc., and New

            York Marine and General Insurance Company, pursuant to which the Defendant agreed to

            provide certain insurance-related services to the Plaintiffs. When the Defendant allegedly failed

            to provide the agreed upon services, the Plaintiffs terminated the Agreement and sued in this

            court. In response in this action, the Defendant asserts three counterclaims - all of which amount

            to claiming that in fact it was the Plaintiffs who breached by improperly terminating the

            Agreement. Separately, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New

            York, the Defendant in this case brought suit - the SDNY Action. That case is now dismissed for

            lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

            The Defendant's counterclaim (the Counterclaim; NYSCEF Doc. No. 4) for breach of the

            covenant of good faith and fair dealing is dismissed. It is entirely duplicative of the breach of

            contract counterclaim (Amcan Holdings, Inc. v Can. Imperial Bank of Commerce, 70 AD3d 423,

            426 [1st Dept 2010]). For example, (i) Counterclaim paragraphs 68 & 77 allege improper

            termination and improper invocation of Agreement Section 21(B)(3), (ii) paragraph 78 alleges

            failure to pay commissions due under the Agreement, (iii) paragraph 80 alleges improper early

            termination of the Agreement, (iv) paragraphs 81-82 allege refusal to pay monies due under the

            Agreement, and (v) paragraph 87 alleges deprivation of benefits the Defendant is "entitled to

            under the Agreement." Thus, it is dismissed. The additional allegation before this Court that

             653775/2023 PROSIGHT SPECIAL TY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC. ET AL vs. AL TRUIS          Page 2 of 4
             GROUP, LLC
             Motion No. 001

                                                           2 of 4
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                                                                                                   INDEX NO. 653775/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 26                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/26/2024

            one of the Plaintiffs' representatives admitted in his deposition that the Defendant may be

            entitled to some money for services rendered amounts to nothing more than a potential admission

            that Plaintiffs breached the Agreement, not a separate cause of action. As discussed (1.26.24),

            this is manifestly different than allegations of a course of dealings involving inconsistent

            communications as to the basis for certain denials (cf Truetox Laboratories, LLC v. Healthjirst

            PHSP, Inc., 68 Misc 3d 1209(A) [Sup Ct 2020]). As such, and as the SDNY court held (see

            NYSCEF Doc. No. 14 at 3-4), the breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing

            counterclaim is dismissed as duplicative.

            The Defendant's counterclaim for a declaratory judgment is also dismissed. In case of an

            improper termination (one that does not fall under any of the specific categories enumerated in

            Section 22[A]-[D]), the Agreement provides that the non-terminating party retains all rights in

            the relevant intellectual property:

                   In the event of any other termination by either party, such termination shall be deemed an
                   abandonment by the terminating party and transfer to the non-terminating party of the
                   terminating party's rights, title to and interest in the Captive Capabilities Niche
                   Intellectual Property and the non-terminating party shall retain the sole undivided interest
                   in the Captive Capabilities Niche Intellectual Property.

            (NYSCEF Doc. No. 9 § 22[E].) Thus, as the SDNY court held (NYSCEF Doc. No. 14 at 6-7),

            this claim too is dismissed as duplicative and the Defendant has an adequate, alternative remedy

            if it proves its breach of contract counterclaim (Ithilien Realty Corp. v 180 Ludlow Dev. LLC,

            140 AD3d 621, 622 [1st Dept 2016]).

            The Court has considered the Defendant's other argument and finds them unavailing.

             653775/2023 PROSIGHT SPECIAL TY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC. ET AL vs. AL TRUIS           Page 3 of 4
             GROUP, LLC
             Motion No. 001

                                                           3 of 4
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                                                                                                   INDEX NO. 653775/2023
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 26                                                                         RECEIVED NYSCEF: 01/26/2024

            Accordingly, it is hereby

            ORDERED that the counterclaims for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and

            for declaratory judgment are dismissed; and it is further

            ORDERED that the parties are directed to meet and confer as to what remains to be done in the

            way of discovery and to provide a proposed schedule no later than February 19, 2024.

            SC: February 19, 2024@ 11:30 am

                    1/26/2024
                      DATE                                                      ANDREW BORROK, J.S.C.
             CHECK ONE:                  CASE DISPOSED                   NON-FINAL DISPOSITION

                                         GRANTED         □ DENIED        GRANTED IN PART          □ OTHER
             APPLICATION:                SETTLE ORDER                    SUBMIT ORDER
             CHECK IF APPROPRIATE:       INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN      FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT    □ REFERENCE

             653775/2023 PROSIGHT SPECIAL TY MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC. ET AL vs. ALTRUIS            Page4 of 4
             GROUP, LLC
             Motion No. 001

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