In NBT Bancorp Inc. v. Fleet/Norstar Fin. Group, Inc. (87 NY2d 614 [1996]) the plaintiffs and defendants each attempted a merger with a bank. NBT had a merger agreement with the bank, subject to the approval of NBT's stockholders. The agreement failed, and NBT sued its competitor, Norstar (id. at 617). NBT's claims for tortious interference with contractual relations were dismissed on a motion to dismiss and the claim for tortious interference with prospective contractual relations was dismissed on summary judgment (id.). The Court of Appeals affirmed both dismissals (id.).