Timothy Tang, as Administrator of the estate of Jonathan Tang, sued Jevon Damadian for damages after his brother’s death while, as a paying guest, using Damadian’s kayak on nearby water. Tang asserted causes of action for negligence, violation of the Navigation Law, and wrongful death. Did Timothy assert legally cognizable and viable claims against Damadian? Damadian owned a home in Hadley, New York, on 112 acres and across the road from a lake called Stewart’s Reservoir. The property itself had no direct lake access. Damadian rented the home to Tyler Vestel and several of Vestel’s friends for the weekend of… Read more

New York real property development disputes often require the Court to navigate hundreds of pages of lengthy and dense contracts, agreements, or understandings that are the source of contention despite having been drafted by experienced attorneys and signed by sophisticated investors. But, as a recent case illustrates, matters become even more contentious where family members informally invest large sums of money with little concomitant paperwork.   Chun You Cheng (“Cheng”) and Chiu Ming Yan Cheng (“Chiu-Ming”) brought a derivative action against family members and other entities (“defendants”) seeking a judgment declaring the ownership interests of the investors (or their successors… Read more

Residential coop living comes with adjacent neighbors and the concomitant sounds of nearby use and occupancy. But how much “noise” is too much “noise” so as to amount to an actionable “nuisance”. As a recent case illustrates, every “noise” may not rise to the level of legally cognizable “nuisance”. Richard L. Getty, a musician and the lessee of a cooperative apartment, brought a Small Claims action against Mike Tolentino and Laura Tolentino, the owners of a vertically adjoining cooperative apartment based upon loud music being played. Getty claimed the Tolentinos played loud music that constituted a nuisance and interfered with… Read more

A romantic relationship often results in concomitant promises to share financial responsibility and wealth that are never reduced to writing—but, needless to say, are disputed when the relationship ends. And, as a recent case illustrates, efforts to enforce the promise may be based on various legal theories that may (or may not) be subject to a panoply of defenses. Virginie Farre alleged that she and Antoine Lours engaged in a 17-year romantic partnership, during which they had three children, all currently under the age of 12. They never married but held themselves out as spouses. Lours worked in the financial… Read more

Email is now a primary and ubiquitous means of business and legal communications. And electronic signatures are recognized as valid and binding by statute in New York and many other jurisdictions. But was a signature binding where the signature block of an attorney was mechanically propagated in an email but the lawyer did not retype his name in the signature block? Or did the mere sending of the email by counsel suffice? On June 6, 2014, Erika Kendall was driving her employer’s car when a motor vehicle owned and operated by Khaliah T. Martin hit her vehicle. Martin carried automobile… Read more

Real property purchase and sale contracts often have so-called “conditions precedent” to closing– events that must occur before a party is obligated to close. But, as a recent case illustrates, disputes often arise about which party is the beneficiary of the condition and the concomitant right to cancel. B & A Realty Management, LLC and John Gloria entered into a purchase and sale agreement. Gloria agreed to sell an undeveloped parcel of property in Suffern to B & A Realty for $1 million. The agreement was contingent upon B & A Realty, as the purchaser, obtaining all governmental approvals for… Read more

How much litigation is too much litigation? In a recent case, the Board of a residential coop asked the Court to find that a shareholder/tenant and her husband had overstepped permissible bounds in repeatedly bringing suits claimed to be frivolous and vexatious. 800 Grand Concourse Owners, Inc. sued to evict Charlene Thomson, the shareholder and proprietary lessee of Apartment 4L-N, and James Pettus, her husband who also lived in the apartment. The Board terminated the lease for “objectionable conduct”— including the filing of at least a dozen frivolous civil cases against the coop. The suits forced the coop to incur… Read more

A lease term ends but the tenant nevertheless remains in possession. The tenant becomes a month-to-month “holdover” tenant on the same terms as the lease that ended. But what if the lease that was concluded contained an option to purchase the premises? Was the exercise of that option legally enforceable by the holdover/tenant? Valeria McMillan and Roderick Francis (tenants) sued Christoper Marengo for specific performance of a purchase option contained in a lease for real property. They entered into a lease with Jack Colbert dated October 26, 2012, for property located in Bronx County, to be used as a residence… Read more

Was the Request Reasonable? And Serving a Legitimate Corporate Purpose? Unit owners at residential coops have both statutory and common law right rights to inspect corporate books and records. But, as a recent case illustrates, that right is not without limits. And that right may be abrogated where the demand is improperly motivated, on the one hand, and/or otherwise unreasonable, on the other. James E. Cayne sought to compel 510 Park Avenue Corporation, a residential cooperative, to comply with his demand to inspect the coop’s books and records pursuant to New York Business Corporation Law § 624 and the common… Read more

Did Prior Practice Trump Governing Language in Facade Signage Dispute? New York City abounds in mixed-use condominiums where the rights and obligations of the commercial and residential unit owners are often meticulously defined in the declaration and by-laws. But disputes nevertheless often arise where those living in the building take issue with conduct of those doing business there. And, as a recent case illustrates, the scrupulous detail of the governing documents may not be dispositive where a prior course of conduct arguably suggests otherwise. The Board of Managers of the 80th at Madison Condominium sued 1055 Madison Avenue Owners LLC… Read more