Opinion
November 2, 1987
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Martin, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiffs, who are real estate brokers, entered into a brokerage agreement with the defendant Orion Electronic Corporation (hereinafter Orion), with respect to Orion's efforts to sublease its premises.
Seeking commissions allegedly due under the agreement for renewal of the sublease, the plaintiffs commenced suit against Orion, Webster Hill Realty Corp. (hereinafter Webster Hill), Orion's assignee, and Schornstein, Orion's and Webster Hill's president. Orion failed to answer or appear and a default judgment was entered against it. Special Term granted summary judgment to Webster Hill and Schornstein, holding that these two defendants had no obligation and could not be liable based upon the agreement sued upon.
We affirm. In the absence of an affirmative assumption, a grantee is not liable on any covenants or agreements by which the grantor may have bound himself unless the covenant runs with the land. There is no question that the brokerage agreement is not a covenant running with the land (Gurney, Becker Bourne v Bradley, 101 A.D.2d 1012). Since the moving defendants were not parties to the agreement and did not affirmatively assume the obligations contained therein, they have no obligation to the plaintiffs based on that agreement (see, Longley-Jones Assocs. v Ircon Realty Co., 67 N.Y.2d 346). That the individual defendant was president of both the assignor and assignee corporations does not change that result. Brown, J.P., Rubin, Kooper and Sullivan, JJ., concur.