Although Littleton and Huber were partners in a joint venture to perform renovations for the Buffalo Public School system, Littleton claimed that the parties also had a separate agreement, which entitled the latter to a share of the management overhead fees. Huber contended that that document was a fraud.
When the Erie County Supreme Court denied Huber’s request to have the case decided in its favor, an appeal to the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, followed.
Because Huber established that the agreement was fraudulent--by providing an affidavit from its company president attesting that he neither saw nor signed the agreement and had no copies of it, and, because there were discrepancies in how the various documents treated fee disbursements--the AD4 reversed. Littleton failed to show to the court’s satisfaction that the document wasn’t forged or that the agreement wasn’t “ambiguous” with respect to the division of the disputed fees.
Talk about bad construction.
To view a copy of the Appellate Division’s decision, please use this link: Littleton Constr. Ltd. v Huber Constr., Inc.To view a copy of the Appellate Division’s decision, please use this link: