CONTRACTS
11-2-0889 Boretsky v. Gruber, App. Div. (per curiam) (7 pp.) Plaintiff Boris Boretsky appeals from an order granting summary judgment to defendants and dismissing the complaint with prejudice. Boretsky is serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife. Prior to her death, Boretsky was a member of a limited liability company, defendant Kingston Hill Homes, L.L.C., along with defendants Andre Gruber and Karl Berkuta. After his arrest, Gruber and Berkuta agreed to provide funds for Boretsky's defense through a structured buy-out of his interest in Kingston. After reviewing Gruber and Berkuta's projections of Kingston's anticipated profits, Boretsky’s criminal defense lawyer, Joseph Benedict, agreed to accept a total of $217,000 in full and final payment. This amount was less than the amount agreed upon for payment of attorney fees for Boretsky’s defense. The complaint alleges that defendants breached the parties’ agreement, and that he was owed the amount defendants had failed to pay Benedict plus the $50,000 conditional payment on Kingston's profits. The appellate panel affirms summary judgment in favor of defendants. Although defendants' unilateral modification of the agreement was perhaps a violation of the parties’ agreement, it did not result in any financial loss to Boretsky. Also, Boretsky's claim that Kingston generated sufficient profit to trigger his conditional $50,000 payment was not supported by any competent evidence in the record.
