Finkel v. Romanowicz, No. 07-2558

In a breach of fiduciary duty action brought under ERISA, district court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) plaintiff failed to establish defendant's status as an ERISA fiduciary as he did not allege or introduce evidence demonstrating that defendant exercised authority or control over the management of ERISA plan assets; 2) plaintiff was not entitled to a hearing prior to the dismissal of its breach of fiduciary duty claim against defendant, as the record demonstrates that no hearing was necessary and plaintiff did not request one; and 3) the court erred in holding that defendant was not personally liable for certain dishonored checks under New York's Uniform Commercial Code, as plaintiff established that the checks did not indicate that defendant signed them in a representative capacity and defendant presented no evidence of an understanding between the parties that he had signed them in a representative capacity. 

Read Finkel v. Romanowicz, No. 07-2558

Appellate Information
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Argued: May 8, 2009
Decided: August 11, 2009

Judges
Before CABRANES and WALLACE, Circuit Judges.
Opinion by CABRANES, Circuit Judge.

Counsel
For Appellant: JAMES R. GRISI, Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP.