Contract 1, Tort 0

Whatever the trend toward subsuming contract claims into tort may be elsewhere, the line still has some meaning in New York.  In a decision last year, Carvel Corp. v. Noonan, 3 N.Y.3d 182, 818 N.E.2d 1100, 785 N.Y.S.2d 359 (2004), the Court of Appeals held that a franchisee with a breach of contract claim against a franchisor couldn’t also recover on a claim for tortious interference with contract.   Zachary D. Silbersher of New York’s Torys LLP offers a summary of the case and its implications.