Werner Gallewski, as Ancillary Administrator of the Estate of Fritz B. Gutmann v. H. Hentz & Company

Summary

The Court affirmed the lower court's denial of summary judgment, holding that the 1950 amendment adding section 28-a to the Civil Practice Act constitutionally revives the plaintiff's breach of contract claim and tolls the statute of limitations for the period Gutmann was in German-occupied territory. Accordingly, the action filed in 1948 was timely. The decision rests on the extraordinary wartime circumstances and the legislative intent to prevent injustice.