Simkin v. Blank
Court of Appeals of New York
19 N.Y.3d 46 (2012)
Relevant factsFree
Simkin (plaintiff) agreed to pay Blank (defendant) $6.25 million in their divorce settlement, without any provision earmarking a specific share of a brokerage account managed by Bernie Madoff or stating an intent to divide marital assets equally; Simkin withdrew funds from that account to help pay Blank and continued investing in it for years afterward, and only after Madoff's Ponzi scheme was exposed four years later did Simkin sue to reform the settlement, arguing both parties mistakenly believed the account held legitimate value.
IssueFree
Whether, for an agreement to be subject to rescission or reformation based on mutual mistake, the mistake must have existed at the time the agreement was executed.