On April 1, 2026, Justice Cohen of the New York County Commercial Division issued a decision in Levy v. Viscogliosi Bros., LLC, 2026 NY Slip Op. 31338(U), dismissing tort claims as duplicative of a contract claim because they arose from the same alleged misconduct, explaining:
A tort claim which merely restates a contract claim cannot be maintained. Here, all three tort claims (breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and fraud/fraudulent concealment) arise from the same alleged misconduct underlying the breach of contract claim: namely, Defendants’ failure to deposit MCRA distributions and MCRA sale proceeds into the Company under the terms of the Agreement.
Mr. Levy’s attempts to save the tort claims on the ground they are asserted against the individual Defendants, who are not parties to the Agreement, are unavailing. Mr. Levy does not allege the individual Defendants breached any duty independent of VB’s obligations under the Agreement, but rather that they participated in the alleged breaches as members and controllers of VB.
In those circumstances, the Second, Third, and Fourth Causes of Action must be dismissed.
(Internal citations omitted).