On February 8, 2022, the First Department issued a decision in Board of Mgrs. of the Alfred Condominium v. Miller, 2022 NY Slip Op. 00808, holding that corporate directors and officers can be held liable for a tort committed by the corporation, explaining:
These two related actions arise out of a series of disputes between the Board of Managers (the Board) of the Alfred Condominium and James Miller, the owner of shares corresponding to a unit therein. In the “Miller Action” (Index No. 655232/18), Miller asserts claims against 10 individual Board members for breach of fiduciary duty and promissory estoppel. In the “Board Action” (Index No. 154867/19) the Board asserts claims against Miller for breach of the Condo bylaws and private nuisance and seeks to dismiss Miller’s counterclaims for breach of fiduciary duty and defamation.
The fact that the claims in the Miller Action were asserted against individual board members does not mandate their dismissal. Although participation in a breach of contract will typically not give rise to individual director liability, the participation of an individual director in a corporation’s tort is sufficient to give rise to individual liability — even absent any tort independent of the tort committed by the corporation itself.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted) (emphasis added).