Monthly Archives: November 2020

Intoxicated Teen/Trespasser Injured on Construction Site at 3 A.M.: Are the Owner/Developer/General Contractor Liable?

Posted on November 30, 2020 | Comments Off on Intoxicated Teen/Trespasser Injured on Construction Site at 3 A.M.: Are the Owner/Developer/General Contractor Liable?

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

If a young adult engages in an athletic competition, and is injured while playing, there may be a defense to third-party liability based upon the doctrine of “assumption of risk”. So does that defense protect a property owner where a person drinks to the point of intoxication; trespasses on a construction site; and is injured in a fall?

In July 2015, Michael Desroches and his friend, Daniel O’Grady, visited Daniel O’Grady’s brother, Ryan O’Grady, who resided in the Timber Creek subdivision in the Town of Ballston Spa, Saratoga County. The group socialized throughout the evening and consumed alcoholic beverages. After midnight, they went for a walk in the neighborhood and eventually decided to enter one of the houses still under construction. When Daniel O’Grady entered the house, followed by Desroches and Ryan O’Grady, he saw an opening in the floor that was located between 10 to 15 feet from the entrance and stepped to the side. But Desroches proceeded forward and fell through the opening approximately 8 or 10 feet into an unfinished basement, sustaining head injuries that required hospitalization.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Intoxicated Teen/Trespasser Injured on Construction Site at 3 A.M.: Are the Owner/Developer/General Contractor Liable?

Posted in Litigation, Litigation, New York Law, Personal Injury, Real Estate

Does Pandemic Mandated Closing Excuse Payment of Commercial Lease Rent? Court Rejects Defenses of Impossibility/Frustration of Performance

Posted on November 23, 2020 | Comments Off on Does Pandemic Mandated Closing Excuse Payment of Commercial Lease Rent? Court Rejects Defenses of Impossibility/Frustration of Performance

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

BKNY1, Inc. (tenant) operated the 132 Lounge on Montague Street in Brooklyn. 132 Capulet Holdings, LLC (landlord) sought an order vacating the Yellowstone injunction in favor of BKNY1 on the grounds that BKNY1 failed to pay rent for the months of April and May 2020.

The Yellowstone injunction was predicated on BKNY1’s representation, made on the record at a hearing, that it had paid (and would continue paying) rent. But BKNY1 failed to pay rent for the months of April and May 2020- claiming that the mandatory closure of BKNY1’s restaurant business during those months by Executive Order No. 202.3 relieved it of the contractual obligation to pay rent. BKNY1 had failed to cite — and the Court’s own review did not uncover — any provision of the lease excusing it from timely and fully paying its rent during (and notwithstanding) the state-mandated closure of its business.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Does Pandemic Mandated Closing Excuse Payment of Commercial Lease Rent? Court Rejects Defenses of Impossibility/Frustration of Performance

Posted in Landlord-Tenant, Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate

“Family Feud” Is Not Just a Primetime Realty TV Show: Conflicting Claims to Unit Ownership End Up in Court

Posted on November 16, 2020 | Comments Off on “Family Feud” Is Not Just a Primetime Realty TV Show: Conflicting Claims to Unit Ownership End Up in Court

This post was originally published on the SGR Blog.

By agreement, circumstance or inheritance, residential cooperative or condominium units often end up being owned by several family owners. A “happy family” can only be found on the menu of a Chinese restaurant. So, as two recent cases demonstrate, the family members sometimes end up in a so-called “partition” proceeding in which the Court must decide if the unit should be sold and the parties account for their claims to the proceeds of the sale.

Vernon A. Anthony and his brother, Robert S. Anthony, own condominium Unit 1 at 46 President Street in Brooklyn, as tenants in common. Needless to say, litigation ensued.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on “Family Feud” Is Not Just a Primetime Realty TV Show: Conflicting Claims to Unit Ownership End Up in Court

Posted in Condominiums, Litigation, Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate, Trusts & Estates, Wills

SGR’s Victor Metsch Selected as 2020 Top Rated Lawyer

Posted on November 13, 2020 | Comments Off on SGR’s Victor Metsch Selected as 2020 Top Rated Lawyer
SGR is proud to announce that Victor Metsch from the firm’s New York office has again been selected as a 2020 Top Rated Lawyer as designated by Martindale-Hubbell. 
New York’s Top Rated Lawyers will run in New York Magazine and the New York Law Journal. These publications reach 1.3 million and 21,000 readers respectively in print and 17.2 million and 192,000 monthly unique visitors online. 

For more information on Martindale-Hubbell, click here.

Comments Off on SGR’s Victor Metsch Selected as 2020 Top Rated Lawyer

Posted in Law Firms

Court “Decks” Trespassing Co-op Unit Owner With “Knock Out” Punch of Compensatory/Punitive Damages

Posted on November 9, 2020 | Comments Off on Court “Decks” Trespassing Co-op Unit Owner With “Knock Out” Punch of Compensatory/Punitive Damages

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

A shareholder in a cooperative apartment building on the Upper West Side demolished a deck constructed by an upstairs neighbor because the deck allegedly encroached on his property.

The deck had been in place undisturbed for 25 years; the Co-op board directed it not be destroyed; and the demolition of the deck created a dangerous condition by leaving his neighbor with an unprotected back door opening to a steep drop to the ground below.

The unsurprising answer was that he was not permitted to exercise the self-help remedy of demolishing the deck. His proper course was to seek relief from the courts or other governmental authorities, not to administer what the Court called “frontier justice”.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Court “Decks” Trespassing Co-op Unit Owner With “Knock Out” Punch of Compensatory/Punitive Damages

Posted in Co-Ops, Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate

Did Traffic Infraction (Not Violation) Warrant Search and Seizure? New York Court of Appeals Finds Distinction With a Difference

Posted on November 5, 2020 | Comments Off on Did Traffic Infraction (Not Violation) Warrant Search and Seizure? New York Court of Appeals Finds Distinction With a Difference

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Question presented: Did a state trooper lack an objectively reasonable suspicion that a crime had occurred or probable cause to stop a vehicle for a traffic infraction such that the automobile stop was unlawful. The Court answered that the stop was unlawful.

WILSON, J. (for the court):

On the afternoon of November 8, 2014, a New York State Trooper stopped a vehicle on a street in Buffalo. The trooper had observed no traffic violations and saw that the inspection sticker was valid, both of the occupants were wearing their seatbelts, and “everything looked good.” Nevertheless, the trooper ran a check of the car based on the front license plate. The inquiry produced a response that began with a direction to “CONFIRM RECORD WITH ORIGINATOR,” listed as the Buffalo City Police Department. The response then instructed:

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Did Traffic Infraction (Not Violation) Warrant Search and Seizure? New York Court of Appeals Finds Distinction With a Difference

Posted in Litigation, New York Law

Yellowstone Proceedings and the Pandemic: Do COVID-19 Mandates Frustrate Performance?

Posted on November 3, 2020 | Comments Off on Yellowstone Proceedings and the Pandemic: Do COVID-19 Mandates Frustrate Performance?

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

The legal press is rife with articles and speculation about the defenses of impossibility and/or frustration of performance to lease defaults triggered by state and local mandates prohibiting or limiting access to businesses. A decision released last week addressed that issue.

Rame, LLC leased space at 200 Park Avenue from Metropolitan Realty Mgt., Inc.

In September 2020, Metropolitan sent Rame a notice of default, alleging that it owed unpaid rent from December 1, 2017 through September 1, 2020 in the amount of $1,863,821.70, and set a deadline of on or before September 14, 2020 to cure the default. Rame sought a Yellowstone injunction tolling the time to cure.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Yellowstone Proceedings and the Pandemic: Do COVID-19 Mandates Frustrate Performance?

Posted in Landlord-Tenant, New York Law, Real Estate

Drilling on Roof at 67th Street Triggers Suit: Did Renovation Breach Tenant’s Rights?

Posted on November 2, 2020 | Comments Off on Drilling on Roof at 67th Street Triggers Suit: Did Renovation Breach Tenant’s Rights?

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Residential leases include warranties of habitability and covenants of quiet enjoyment for the benefit of tenants of the building. But those buildings often need repairs that lead to noise and inconvenience.  And, as a recent case shows, remediation often leads to disputes between the disturbed tenants and the building’s owner.

Emily Jerome sued 20 East 67th Street Associates LLC, the owner of a seven-story residential East 67th Street property  and Samson Management, LLC. the managing agent for the building.

On January 2, 2019, Jerome moved into apartment 6R under a written one-year lease. The lease ended on January 31, 2020. Rent under the lease is $4,560.00 per month. The apartment is located on the sixth floor, two floors below the roof. The lease contains an option to renew for one year in favor of Jerome. Despite the expiration of the lease, Jerome was still in physical possession of the apartment.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Drilling on Roof at 67th Street Triggers Suit: Did Renovation Breach Tenant’s Rights?

Posted in Landlord-Tenant, Litigation, Real Estate