Category Archives: Landlord-Tenant

Was Landlord Estopped from Asserting That No Binding Agreement Was Made?

In March 2021, Odonata Ltd., the tenant/operator of a hair salon, notified its landlord, Baja 137 LLC, that it would be surrendering the leased premises effective July 7, 2021, a month before the lease was due to expire, because it could no longer afford the rent. In response, Baja offered to forgive certain rent and late fees. And Baja advised Odonata that it would consider a third modification to the lease, at a lesser rent and on more favorable terms, stating that Odonata had been a “great” tenant. Odonata replied that it had already found new spaces at lower base rents and that it was prepared to move. And Odonata then presented Baja with a counteroffer of an even lower base rent and other more favorable terms, stating that it was more in line with “generous” offers it had received from other property owners. Baja acknowledged receipt of the counteroffer and advised Odonata that it would provide a “formal reply” to its counteroffer and that it was subject to a lease amendment signed by both parties.

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Was Landlord’s Conduct Actionable/Sanctionable?

On August 11, 2021, Arlene Marie Karole filed a small claims action against 340 West End Ave, LLC, seeking $3,851.89 in damages for, among other things, the failure to return a security deposit for an apartment which Karole had leased from West End.

The Court conducted a nonjury trial from 10:25 a.m. and concluding at 12:25 pm. Karole appeared virtually via MS Teams. And West End appeared in person by Steven Kirschner, the president of Kay Equities, the management company of the apartment building. The trial was held on the record via FTR recording in Room 419 at 111 Centre Street, New York, New York.

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

Was Occupant’s Use of Wrong Name (In)Curable?

Some cases raise complex questions of causation and other material facts. And some suits generate complicated and dispositive questions of law. But, as a recent case illustrates, some proceedings simply generate an over-the-top rating on the jurisprudential chutzpah scale.

Anthony Perez sued Garden Property Associates, LLC (owner) and DMARC 2007-CDS Garden Street, LLC (manager) for personal injuries sustained by the collapse of a ceiling in a bathroom of his apartment. Both GPA and DMARC moved to dismiss. Perez cross-moved to amend. The complaint was dismissed for lack of standing. Perez appealed.

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

Would Court Order Tenant to Permit Access by Landlord?

Residential apartment leases usually authorize landlords access to the units to inspect and repair. And, as a recent case illustrates, the Court may be required to intervene where such access is denied.

400 West 59th Street Partners LLC is the owner and landlord of 1 Columbus Place in Manhattan. Tobi Oyolesi was a tenant of apartment S30C in the building, and Travis Lilley was a guest.

This was originally published on the SGR Blog.

Was Operation of Printing Press on Second Floor an Actionable Breach by Landlord?

Andrianna Shamaris, Inc, operated a luxury home specialty store located at 121 Varick Street, pursuant to a commercial lease signed in January of 2019 with 121 Varick St. Corp. The lease covered a portion of the ground floor retail space to be used as an “upscale furniture showroom.”

121 Varick Street sits atop the subway under Varick Street and is at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel. It also is located in what has historically been known as New York’s “printing district.” The building had a history of housing printing presses ever since seven printing companies formed the cooperative that is known as Varick. Each unit in the building also had a certificate of occupancy for manufacturing.

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Did Adverse Impact On Service Constitute a Breach of Warranty?

Gene Rosen sued MF Associates of New York LLC and Ogen Cap Properties, LLC for breach of the warranty of habitability at four (4) high rise residential buildings located at 205/215/225 and 235 East 95th Street in Manhattan in a complex known as Normandie Court.

In his amended complaint, Rosen alleged, on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, that MF Associates and Ogden, as owner and manager, respectively, of the Normandie Court buildings, breached the warranty of habitability on rentals/leases in those buildings by depriving tenants of the use of elevators during a modernization project from approximately August of 2014 to July of 2015. Rosen brought the case as a class action on behalf of himself, a former resident of one of the buildings during the time of the elevator outages, as well as as-yet unnamed other residents during that time who suffered from the non-functioning elevators in their buildings. Rosen alleged that, during the modernization project, there were times the residential tenants suffered inadequate, unreliable, and on at least one occasion, no elevator service.

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Was Tenant Entitled to Abatement of Rent?

Karen Congdon sought $1,149.95 in damages from Jessica Filippi for breach of a month-to month lease. The matter proceeded to trial before the City Court of Little Falls in Herkimer County.

Congdon testified that Filippi left without providing one-month notice as required in the month-to-month lease agreement and sought the unpaid rent for September 2021 as well as damages for mold remediation, locks, smoke alarms, a broken refrigerator drawer, and other damages. Congdon also testified that she expended money on various cleaning products following Filippi’s leaving the apartment.

This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.

Was Tenant Liable for Increased Holdover Monthly Rent?

Many commercial leases require a tenant who makes alterations to the premises to restore the space to its pre-alteration condition at the end of the lease term. But what is the consequence where the tenant timely vacates but fails to restore?

605 Fifth Property Owner LLC sought damages from Luxottica Holding Corp. arising out of an alleged breach of a commercial lease. On December 1, 2009, Luxottica’s predecessor, Sunglass Hut Trading, LLC, executed a lease to take possession of a commercial space located at 605 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York. At the time the original lease was signed, the premises consisted of the basement, ground floor, mezzanine, and second floor portions of the building.