Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2017

Petitt v. LMZ Soluble Coffee, Inc.

Petitt v. LMZ Soluble Coffee, Inc.
Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York · Decided January 3, 2017 · Friedman, Sweeny, Richter, Manzanet-Daniels, Kapnick
2017 NY Slip Op 18; 146 A.D.3d 414; 43 N.Y.S.3d 742
Petitt v. LMZ Soluble Coffee, Inc.

Opinion

*415 Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Eileen Bransten, J.), entered April 15, 2016, which granted defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint, unanimously reversed, on the law, without costs, and the motion denied.

The subject employment agreement contains an ambiguous provision regarding deferred compensation that can be read as indicating that plaintiff was to be employed for five years. Considered in conjunction with the five-year payment schedules and targets in the agreement, this ambiguous provision precludes a determination as a matter of law of the parties’ intentions as to the term of plaintiff’s employment (see Crabtree v Elizabeth Arden Sales Corp., 305 NY 48 [1953]).

Concur— Friedman, J.P., Sweeny, Richter, Manzanet-Daniels and Kapnick, JJ.

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