Was Owner Liable For Personal Injury Claimed The “storm in progress” rule protects real property owners from sidewalk-related “slip and fall” claims until a reasonable amount of time after rain or snow abates. But, as a recent case illustrates, different rules apply where the weather-related accident takes place inside the building while it is raining outside. Woon Yin Kwan resides at 20 Confucius Plaza located in New York County. The building is owned by Chinatown Apartments, Inc. and managed by Tudor Realty Services Corp. An accident occurred on a rainy day when Kwan and her daughter, Kate Lee, exited a… Read more

Was Damage Caused by Removal of Tree? Some disputes between neighbors are vindictive. Some cases are retaliatory. And, as a recent small claims proceedings that ended up in an appellate court split-decision demonstrates, some actions are simply petty. Ksenia Benjaminov brought a small claims action to recover $5,000, alleging that her concrete patio and fence were damaged by the roots of a tree located on the adjacent property of Ron Zhong Zheng. At a nonjury trial, it was established that Zheng had purchased his property in January of 2016 and had since removed the offending tree. The tree had already… Read more

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 a 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 was a resident in a cooperative apartment building owned by 12282 Owners’ Corp. Weinstein asserted claims against the… Read more

“Mox Nix” If Old or New Law Controlled. Both owners of contiguous real property have the right to landscape their side of the boundary. But, as a recent case illustrates, a Court may have to decide if, as and when such plantings and maintenance on or across the line rose to the level of adverse possession. E. 12th St. Holding LLC sued Mousa Lati, the owner of an adjoining property, for adverse possession, trespass, and damages. Holding’s predecessors (Bettina and Nathan Avidan) bought the property in 1995 as husband and wife; built a new house which was completed in 1998;… Read more

According to Robert Frost: “Good fences make good neighbors.” (Mending Wall, 1914) But, as a recent case illustrates, a roadway crossing gate may result in an acrimonious legal dispute between contiguous property owners. Monica and Harold Hulett and Terri Korb own neighboring parcels of land in the Town of Saratoga. Since 1986, the Huletts had accessed their property through the use of a roadway, known as Rodgers Lane, that crossed over a number of their neighbors’ parcels, including a roughly 250-foot-long portion of Korb’s parcel. In 2012, Korb installed gates and made other modifications to Rodgers Lane. The Huletts then… Read more

Would Witnesses Be Allowed to Testify Anonymously At Trial? A multi-family residential building is terrorized by members of an armed and violent street gang that congregates in one of the apartments. The landlord seeks to evict the tenants of that unit in a so-called “nuisance” summary proceeding—in which many of the witnesses would be neighbors of the gang-member/tenants. But those witnesses fear for their safety and want to testify anonymously. And the Court is asked for permission for them to do so. Are the tenants charged with misconduct entitled to know the identities of the witnesses against them?  Y.A. Mullings… Read more

What Was Remedy If Mortgage Balances Exceeded Winning Bid? It is not unusual in a hot suburban residential real estate market for an offering to morph into a “bidding war”- a de facto auction. And, on occasion, an auction is the sales method of choice from the start. But, as a recent case illustrates, a real estate auction sale may raise some unique factual disputes and concomitant legal issues. Theodore Brois and Helene Brois authorized Concierge Auction, LLC, to conduct an auction of their property located at 3 Tallwoods Road in Armonk, New York, by an agreement dated May 21, 2018. The… Read more

The range of legal issues that a Court may be called upon to adjudicate is beyond generic or simple description. As a recent case in which the police seized a crossbow illustrates, the answer to a superficially easy question may be far more complicated. The Village of Depew Police Department filed this petition pursuant to what is commonly known as the “Red Flag” law, seeking an Extreme Risk Protection Order (a so-called “ERPO”) to retain certain weapons seized from the home of Jeffrey Lloyd. After responding to a 911 call from his house, the Police eventually sent Lloyd to the… Read more

Was New York Rule of Evidence Dispositive of Ownership of Austrian Painting? Our news media regularly report on disputed claims to artwork taken during World War II. But, as a recent case illustrates, the passage of time and the crossing of national borders implicate many procedural and evidentiary rules that are unrelated to a particular painting’s provenance or country of origin. In 1917, Austrian artist Egon Schiele made a portrait of his wife Edith. In 1964, the artwork was bought by art collector Robert Lehman, Sr. from an exhibition at an art gallery in London, England. And, later that year,… Read more

Shelter Island (2010 pop. 2,392), a Town on the East End of Long Island, separated from the rest of Suffolk County by a body of water– and accessible only by ferry from Greenport (to the north) and North Haven (to the south)– is known for its bed and breakfast and boutique hotel charm and culture. But, as a recent case illustrates, the full-time residents can be as litigious as the mainlanders who visit the island. Sharon and Brenda Grosbard and Abbey on Willow Lane, LLC own adjoining properties that were once part of a larger common parcel in Shelter Island…. Read more