Trott v. Dean Witter & Co.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
438 F. Supp. 842 (1977)

- Written by Josh Lee, JD
Facts
Franzese was a Dean Witter (defendant) employee involved in a scheme to misappropriate funds from Dean Witter. Franzese requested that Trott (plaintiff) join in on the scheme. Trott agreed to participate and worked with Franzese. Trott was afraid of Franzese and planned to go to the authorities after gathering enough evidence. As part of the plan, Franzese issued checks made payable by Dean Witter in the amount of $275,000. Trott then notified the FBI, who asked him to continue to cooperate with Franzese during their investigation. Eventually, the FBI intervened, recovered the money belonging to Dean Witter, and obtained a conviction of Franzese based partially on Trott’s testimony. Trott then sued Dean Witter, seeking restitution for his services during the two months he worked with Franzese. Dean Witter filed a motion for summary judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lasker, J.)
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