111 W. 57th Inv. LLC v 111 W57th Prop. Owner LLC
2020 NY Slip Op 06943 [188 AD3d 590]
November 24, 2020
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, December 30, 2020


[*1]
 111 West 57th Investment LLC, on Behalf of Itself and Derivatively on Behalf of 111 West 57th Partners LLC, Appellant,
v
111 W57th Property Owner LLC, Respondent, et al., Defendants.

Meister Seelig & Fein LLP, New York (Stephen B. Meister and Eugene Meyers of counsel), for appellants.

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, New York (Paul M. O'Connor III of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (O. Peter Sherwood, J.), entered August 8, 2019, which granted defendant's motion to cancel a notice of pendency filed against its property, and order, same court and Justice, entered March 2, 2020, which granted defendant's motion to dismiss the complaint, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The claims against defendant for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty fail for lack of allegations of defendant's "substantial assistance" to the primary violators (see Kaufman v Cohen, 307 AD2d 113, 126 [1st Dept 2003] [internal quotation marks omitted]). The constructive trust claim was also properly dismissed because, among other reasons, the legal remedy of money damages would be adequate to compensate plaintiff for any purported improper conduct of defendant (see e.g. Cuomo v Uppal, 68 AD3d 569 [1st Dept 2009]). Accordingly, the notice of pendency, which was based upon the constructive trust claim, was properly cancelled.

We have considered plaintiff's remaining arguments and find them unavailing. Concur—Renwick, J.P., Kapnick, Gesmer, Kern, JJ.