Italia Imports, Inc. v.Weisberg

—Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Ira Gammerman, J.), entered February 8, 1995, which granted defendants-respondents’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint as against them, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

The unambiguous written engagement letter between plaintiff Italia Imports, Inc. ("Imports”) and defendant accounting firm, which covers the time frame when said plaintiff’s bookkeeper embezzled money from plaintiff, provides that the accounting firm would merely perform an annual compilation of Imports’ financial records based on information supplied by said plaintiff’s management without verification by the accounting firm. There was no agreement to perform a "review” or an "audit” of Imports’ financial condition. Moreover, the engagement letter expressly disclaimed any duty to discover wrongdoing and defalcations. Under these circumstances, it is clear that the accountants are not liable for failing to discover the defalcations of the bookkeeper. Further, there is no evidence defendants-respondents were negligent in their performance of any services for Imports. Finally, while plaintiffs argue that the accountants performed "extra services” and were thereby bound to a higher duty of care, there is no evi