In an October 12, 2010, decision by Justice Kapnick in connection with an action between two hair salons in which plaintiff alleged various business torts relative to the resignation of a stylist from plaintiff’s salon and the subsequent hiring of that same stylist by defendant’s salon, and on defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, the court granted defendant’s motion as to each of plaintiff’s four causes of action. As to the first cause of action for tortious interference with prospective business relations, the court found that plaintiff failed to allege with the requisite specificity that defendant engaged in conduct amounting to an independent tort or crime and that defendant acted solely out of malice or by wrongful means. As to the second cause of action for tortious interference with economic relations, the court found that plaintiff failed to allege the existence of a valid contract between it and its former clients or that defendant knew about any such contracts. As to the third cause of action for unfair competition, the court found that plaintiff failed to allege that defendant misappropriated plaintiff’s labors by hiring one of its former employees or otherwise acted in bad faith. And as to the fourth cause of action for unjust enrichment, the court found that plaintiff failed to allege that it conferred a benefit upon defendant that would entitle defendant to recovery under such a theory.
Wayne Thomas Salon, Inc. v Moser, Sup Ct, New York County, October 12, 2010, Kapnick, J., Index No. 603632/09