Fred McConnell, Respondent v. Commonwealth Pictures Corporation, Appellant

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division and held that a plaintiff cannot recover under a lawful contract when the performance of that contract involved gravely immoral and illegal conduct, specifically commercial bribery, that is central to the transaction. The court affirmed the sufficiency of the two affirmative defenses asserting bribery and public policy violations. Two dissenting opinions argued that recovery should be allowed where the contract itself is lawful and the illegal acts are not essential to its performance. The matter was remanded for further proceedings.