MCCM News

The Inn on Church in the Historic Newman-Dean House was established as a joint venture among three Fairport residents, and opened to guests in December 2016.   It enjoyed increasing community visibility, and proved to be a much sought after lodging for out of town visitors, and local people desiring a “stay-cation” in the Village.

Regrettably, in 2020 two of the co-venturers abandoned the joint venture, evicted the Inn operation, and moved their family into the property.  When the two co-venturers refused to compensate their partner for her substantial contributions to the property, she retained MCCM’s litigation team to initiate a lawsuit in Monroe County Supreme Court against them as defendants, claiming breach of the joint venture contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment.  The lawsuit seeks, among other things, an accounting and liquidation of the joint venture, and recoupment of plaintiff’s investment.

The defendants moved to dismiss the 27 page complaint, arguing that it failed to state a claim.  In an extensive and well-reasoned opinion, Hon. J. Scott Odorisi, the Presiding Justice of the Commercial Division, rejected defendants’ argument that a joint venture had not been alleged and supported by the documentary evidence – including a written business plan that the parties had operated under for four years.  The Court also ruled that plaintiff’s notice of pendency filed against the Inn property was valid and would not be cancelled.  You can read the Court’s opinion here.

The case will now proceed to the discovery and trial phases.

The plaintiffs are being represented by Kevin Cooman and Peter Weishaar, who continue to lead MCCM’s commercial litigation team representing both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of business disputes.

This publication is intended as an information source for clients, prospective clients, and colleagues and constitutes attorney advertising. The content should not be considered legal advice and readers should not act upon information in this publication without individualized professional counsel.

About MCCM

McConville Considine Cooman & Morin, P.C. is a full-service law firm based in Rochester, New York, providing high-quality legal services to businesses and individuals since 1979.  With over a dozen attorneys and a full paralegal support staff, the firm is well-positioned to right-size services tailored to each client. We are large enough to provide expertise in a broad range of practice areas, yet small enough to devote prompt, personal attention to our clients.

We represent a diverse range of clients located throughout New York State and New England.  They include individuals, numerous manufacturing and service industry businesses, local governments, and health care professionals, provider groups, facilities and associations. We also serve as local counsel to out-of-state clients and their attorneys who have litigation pending in Western New York courts.  For more information, please contact us at 585.546.2500.