Opinion
Submitted August 17, 1999
October 18, 1999
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for breach of contract, the defendants Calvert Insurance Company, William F. Meisner Company, Inc., N. Jeffrey Brown, Ceasar Napoli, Christine Anderson, and Leonard Brown appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Kramer, J.).
ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted, the complaint is dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellants, and the action against the remaining defendant is severed.
The plaintiff Cinderella Holding Corp. did not appear by an attorney (see, CPLR 321[a]). Therefore, the complaint insofar as asserted on behalf of the plaintiff corporation should have been dismissed (see, Hilton Apothecary v. State of New York, 89 N.Y.2d 1024; Gazdo Props. Corp. v. Lava, 150 Misc.2d 1019; W.T. Grant Co. v. Payne, 64 Misc.2d 797; Lonya Realty Corp. v. Montes, 113 N.Y.S.2d 299; see, also, Lohmann v. Castleton Gallery, 252 A.D.2d 482; Pere v. 1470-1488 UR, 247 A.D.2d 477).
The causes of action asserted on behalf of the individual plaintiff, Vidyartie Ganesh, sounding in breach of contract, breach of trust, and breach of the insurance carrier's duty of good faith and fair dealing, must be dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellants. There is no allegation of contractual or other privity between Ganesh, as sole shareholder of the plaintiff corporation, and the plaintiff corporation, or between the Ganesh and the appellants. Therefore, Ganesh lacks standing to assert those causes of action (see, Fallek v. Becker, Achiron Isserlis, 246 A.D.2d 394; Watson v. Aetna Cas. Sur. Co., 246 A.D.2d 57, 63; Abate v. All-City Ins. Co., 214 A.D.2d 627; Costa v. Colonial Penn Ins. Co., 204 A.D.2d 591).
Ganesh's causes of action alleging violations of various provisions of the Insurance Law should have been dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellants as these provisions do not give rise to private causes of action (see, New York Univ. v. Continental Ins. Co., 87 N.Y.2d 308, 317-318; Rocanova v. Equitable Life Assur. Socy. of U.S., 83 N.Y.2d 603, 614; Kurrus v. CNA Ins. Co., 115 A.D.2d 593, 594).
Ganesh's cause of action to recover damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress should have been dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellants for failure to state a cause of action (see, CPLR 3211[a][7]; Howell v. New York Post Co., 81 N.Y.2d 115; Freihofer v. Hearst Corp., 65 N.Y.2d 135; Murphy v. American Home Prods. Corp., 58 N.Y.2d 293, 303).
Finally, Ganesh's request for punitive damages must be dismissed insofar as asserted against the appellants since he is unable to assert an underlying cause of action upon which a demand for punitive damages can be grounded (see, Rocanova v. Equitable Life Assur. Socy. of U.S., 83 N.Y.2d 603, 616-617).
BRACKEN, J.P., THOMPSON, GOLDSTEIN, McGINITY, and SCHMIDT, JJ., concur.