Did Failure to Comply Result in Forfeiture of Damage Claim?
Michael Gordon was a tenant of Arcadian Corp. N.V. at 160 Central Park South where she owns a condominium unit. He brought a small claims action for damages Arcadian failed to return his security deposit after he moved out on March 26, 2021. There was a dispute as to the date he vacated because he did not remove his furniture until May 25.
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Posted in Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate
Was Owner Entitled to Substantial Los of Space/“Severance”?
When I took the prep course for the New York State Bar Examination 1969, micro-subjects– like eminent domain, zoning and the like–were mentioned and reviewed only in passing or not at all. Over the years I have learned that friends and colleagues turned those singular topics (worthy of only cursory review when studying for the “Bar”) into full-time and successful careers. And that each such area has a specific jurisprudential legacy of constitutional, statutory and decisional law. As a recent case illustrates, the “taking by eminent domain” of a small portion of a large suburban shopping center involved and invoked just one substrate of that complicated legacy–“severance damages”.
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Posted in Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate
Court Decides Whether Facts Justify Preliminary Injunction
Grecia Gross owns shares of stock in the building corporation appurtenant to cooperative apartment 2A and is also the lessee under a proprietary lease. The building is located on the corner of Lexington Avenue and is directly above the 4/5/6 subway line. The apartment is located directly above a ground floor commercial space leased to Joe & The Juice since February 2018. Joe & The Juice is a coffee shop/juice bar, which utilizes blenders and coffee grinders as necessary components of its business.
Since October 2018, Gross asserted that her apartment had been “plagued with excessive, disruptive noise from” Joe & The Juice consisting of “incredibly loud bass music, excessive banging, and extremely loud whining machine noises … nearly every single morning” from approximately 7:00 a.m. until after 9:00 p.m. Gross alleged the noise prevented her from being able to sleep or rest, make telephone calls, and caused her headaches, undue stress and anxiety. Gross sought to address the issue by speaking with the store’s employees, requesting remedial efforts by the board of the corporation, and hiring an acoustical consulting service company, Acoustilog Inc. to perform sound testing and acoustical recordings from April 1, 2022 through April 11, 2022.
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Posted in Litigation, Real Estate
Commission Suit On Purchase by Assignment of 3rd Party Contract
| Was Broker Procuring Cause of Sale– Direct and Proximate Link? |
Kassin Sabbagh Realty LLC sought a brokerage commission from 125th St. Holding Co. LLC and 125th Street Bopaz LLC on a transaction of which it alleges it was the procuring cause. The Manhattan property located at 51 East 125th Street. Sabbagh made David Israel aware of the property on November 6, 2018. Subsequently, on February 25, 2019, Israel contacted Kassin about making an offer but Kassin informed Israel that the proposed offer was too low because the seller was seeking $13 million. Before Holding/Bopaz were able to make an offer, the seller entered into a contract to sell the property to a third party. However, before a closing took place, Kassin, acting as Holing/Bopaz’ broker, set up a meeting between Israel, the seller and the third-party purchaser. At the March 28, 2019 meeting, Kassin alleged that Israel proposed acquiring the property through the assignment of the third-party purchase agreement. Instead, Israel alleged that through the efforts of a different broker, it was able to purchase the property through the assignment of the third-party purchase agreement.
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Posted in Litigation, Real Estate
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.
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Posted in Landlord-Tenant, Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate
Was Equipment Operator Negligent/Liable for Causing Injury?
Garrett Hickey and another person were assisting Paul Regalbuto in felling trees on Regalbuto’s property and then cutting the timber for firewood. Regalbuto was directing the two men with regard to the work being done. Regalbuto was operating an excavator and, once a tree had been cut down, Regalbuto used the excavator to move the tree to a pile where it was then cut into firewood.
The excavator cab could rotate 360 degrees and, on at least some occasions, Regalbuto was facing in the opposite direction of the way the excavator was moving. While picking up and moving one of the felled trees, he struck Hickey with the excavator. Hickey had apparently stopped behind the excavator to cut a stump down closer to ground level. Hickey testified that Regalbuto had specifically directed him to cut the stump flush to the ground. But Regalbuto testified that he was unaware that Hickey was behind the excavator and cutting the stump.
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Posted in Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate
This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.
Buyer’s Claim of Justifiable Reliance Meets Defense of Caveat Emptor
On June 21, 2006, Yama Rahimzada entered into a contract to sell to R. Vig. Props., LLC three improved commercial properties for the sum of $20.4 million. The sale closed on December 20, 2006. On December 18, 2012, RVP sued Rahimzada to recover damages for fraud and deceit, misrepresentation and breach of contract.
RVP alleged that Rahimazada represented that one of the properties, located in Valatie, NY, was primarily occupied by a master tenant pursuant to a self-sustaining triple-net master lease. RVP contended that Rahimzada withheld certain facts relating to the Valatie property, including the fact that the master tenant at that property had informed him that it was experiencing financial difficulties and, absent rent concessions, would breach the master lease and vacate the property. A prior determination of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey relieved all prior assignees of the master lease for that property from liability notwithstanding that the terms of the master lease, annexed as an exhibit to the contract of sale, provided that such assignees were liable; and the master tenant at that property was a single asset entity with no assets other than the lease.
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Posted in Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate
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.
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Posted in Landlord-Tenant, Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate
This was originally posted on the SGR Blog.
Owner Moved to Reargue Court’s Denial of Relief Sought Against Co-op/Board
Yetta Kurland is the proprietary lessee and shareholder of apartment 5C at 161 West 16th Street, New York, New York. 161 West 16th St. Owners Corp. is a cooperative housing corporation, which owns the building. According to Kurland, the Board of Directors of the co-op manages all maintenance and affairs of the building.
Kurland alleged in her complaint that she had undertaken a renovation project with respect to the apartment. The project included improvements to a portion of the roof area directly appurtenant to the unit– and to which the co-op board agreed. The complaint alleged that the board subsequently refused to sign the necessary forms, approvals and/or consents as required for Kurland to complete the renovations as they related to the roof. Kurland sued. Her complaint set forth causes of action for declaratory relief, injunctive relief, breach of contract, and a violation of Civil Rights Law § 52-a.
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Posted in Co-Ops, Real Estate
This was originally published on the SGR Blog.
Was There Liability for Almost $1M Façade Repair?
The owner of an apartment in a residential co-op has every right to sue the board and managing agent for a perceived breach of the proprietary lease or for breach of fiduciary duty. But sustaining a claim may be easier said than done. And, as recent case illustrates, a shareholder’s claim arising out of an almost one-million-dollar façade repair was tested at the outset by several threshold legal defenses.
Bernard Weinstein, a resident in a cooperative apartment building owned by 12282 Owners’ Corp., asserted claims against the Co-Op’s Board of Directors and against the Co-Op’s managing agent, AKAM Associates, Inc., for failure properly to maintain the exterior of the building. The Co-Op and AKAM moved to dismiss the complaint.
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Posted in Co-Ops, Litigation, New York Law, Real Estate