Dee v. Rakowe

976 N.Y.S.2d 470 (2013)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P and D lived together in a same-sex relationship from 1990 until 2007. They are the parents of two children. Each party is the biological parent of one child, and each child was legally adopted by the other party. Before they had children, each party was employed full-time, earning a salary and retirement benefits. The parties pooled their respective salaries to meet their shared expenses pursuant to 'a partnership and/or joint venture.' The parties purchased a house as 'joint tenants with rights of survivorship.' After the parties' first child, the parties agreed, that P would work part-time so that she could 'be home with the children. P claims that her decision to leave her full-time employment was based in part upon D's promise that P plaintiff would be entitled to one half of D's retirement contributions and earnings for the period that P did not work at a job that provided her with a retirement plan. P alleged 10 causes of action. At issue on this appeal are P's eighth cause of action, which was to recover damages for breach of the parties' alleged partnership/joint venture agreement, as well as her sixth cause of action, which was for dissolution of the alleged partnership/joint venture and an accounting of its assets, seventh cause of action, which was for the imposition of a constructive trust on one half of the defendant's assets, and ninth cause of action, which was based on unjust enrichment.

D moved to dismiss the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth causes of action alleged in the complaint. That motion was granted, and P appealed.