On September 1, 2021, the Second Department issued a decision in 298 Humboldt, LLC v. Torres, 2021 NY Slip Op. 04899, holding that a plaintiff could not assert a negligence claim based on a contract, explaining:
The Supreme Court also properly granted that branch of the defendant’s motion which was to dismiss the negligence cause of action. A simple breach of contract is not to be considered a tort unless a legal duty independent of the contract itself has been violated. This legal duty must spring from circumstances extraneous to, and not constituting elements of, the contract, although it may be connected with and dependent upon the contract. Here, the complaint did not allege facts that would give rise to a duty that is independent of the duty imposed under the Assignment.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).