[DOWNLOAD] "Port Chester Electrical Construction Corp. v. Edythe Atlas Et Al." by Court of Appeals of New York # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Port Chester Electrical Construction Corp. v. Edythe Atlas Et Al.
- Author : Court of Appeals of New York
- Release Date : January 26, 1976
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 71 KB
Description
[40 N.Y.2d 652 Page 653] Until his death in July, 1973, the late Sol G. Atlas was actively engaged in the acquisition and development of real property. Atlas organized his various ownership and construction ventures into a complex network of separate corporations in which he had both a controlling interest and an active leadership role. This case involves the efforts of an independent subcontractor on an Atlas project to collect a money judgment it obtained against an Atlas controlled general contractor. Since the general contractor was virtually judgment proof due to certain financial manipulations, the subcontractor endeavored to enforce its judgment against other corporations allied with Atlas in the venture, as well as against Atlas' estate. The trial court, by piercing the corporate veil of the various corporate defendants and holding that the subcontractor was a third-party beneficiary of contracts between these Atlas corporations, granted the relief sought. The Appellate Division affirmed, placing primary reliance upon the third-party beneficiary theory. While we disagree with the theories developed by the courts below, we are in accord with the result reached. In our view, the subcontractor was entitled to enforce its money judgment against the defendant corporations and the estate of Sol G. Atlas through a special proceeding authorized by CPLR article 52. Since all necessary parties are before the court, the court may convert the plenary action into a special proceeding (CPLR 103, subd [c]; see Kovarsky v Housing & Development Admin., 31 N.Y.2d 184; Matter of First Nat. City Bank v City of New York, 36 N.Y.2d 87) and, on [40 N.Y.2d 652 Page 654]