With the onset of warm weather, cyclists will again take to the road. As with almost every other form of recreation, biking provides a fertile ground for accidents, finger pointing and litigation of both simple and complex issues. Some recent examples follow. On November 12, 2017, Frank Marzan was involved in an accident in or near a Manhattan intersection that caused him to sustain significant personal injuries. Marzan alleged that Marilyn J. Levine, a pedestrian, stepped into the bicycle lane in which Marzan was riding his bicycle, causing him to maneuver abruptly to avoid Levine and, in the process, strike… Read more

Some coop disputes rival for longevity the infamous “War of the Roses” (1455-1485). A recently litigated summary “nuisance” holdover proceeding, that followed the termination  of a residential proprietary lease for “objectionable conduct”, was the end result of more than twenty years of complaints. Surfair Equities, Inc., a cooperative housing corporation, filed an objectionable conduct holdover proceeding to recover possession of Apt. 3A located at 35-30 73rd Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11435 from Alberto Marin, the shareholder of Apt. 3A. Surfair alleged that, after approximately 20 years of objectionable conduct, and repeated written notices, the Board of Directors held a Special… Read more

The rights and privileges of owner of units in residential condominiums and cooperatives in New York are complicated enough, standing alone. But even more complex is a two unit condominium consisting of a street level commercial unit upon which sits a residential unit (the latter of which is a multi-apartment coop). The various organizational documents in a so-called “cond-op” present challenging factual questions and legal issues when disputes arise. A recent case addressed the question of whether the owner of the commercial unit had the right to install a vent exhaust on the exterior wall of the residential unit. The… Read more

Under the uniform New York co-op lease, the holders of unsold shares enjoy rights in addition to those ordinary shareholders have. Among other things, an apartment lessee who holds a block of unsold shares may sublet the apartment or assign the lease without approval of the coop’s board of directors or other shareholders, as would ordinarily be required. Only the building’s managing agent’s approval is required. Supreme Court was recently called upon to determine the legal status of shares in a cooperative apartment located at 7 Park Avenue. Bellstell 7 Park Avenue, L.L.C., holder of all the unsold shares, sought… Read more

As members of SGR’s transportation group, Marc (in New York) and Shani (in L.A.) are often called upon to advise clients about the choice of the law to govern the interpretation and enforcement of agreements and the place for adjudication of disputes (likely with little nexus to New York other than that clause). And, as a commercial litigator in New York, Victor must navigate, challenge or defend those choices. One of the factors to be considered is the extent to which the Courts in New York will enforce the selection of New York law and venue. Under agreements, governed by… Read more

A Yellowstone proceeding (so-called after a Court of Appeals decision establishing the legal protocol) maintains the status quo so that a commercial tenant, when confronted by a threat of termination of its lease, may protect its investment in the leasehold by obtaining a stay tolling the cure period—and, if an adverse determination on the merits ensues, the tenant may cure the default and avoid a forfeiture. The proceeding is New York–specific. Our Civil Courts in New York City and District Courts in the rest of the State (where landlord-tenant cases are litigated) do not have jurisdiction to grant equitable relief…. Read more

On August 27, 2015, Theodore Comando went to a  deli on the Upper West Side, owned by C.P. Yang Corp, to purchase a cup of coffee. He walked to the counter and lifted a coffee pot from the coffee burner. While lifting the pot, the bottom of the pot fell out, causing his legs and feet to be scalded with second degree burns. Countering Comando’s version of the facts, the owner of the store, Keumyul Yang, stated in deposition testimony that he was not present during the incident but was told by his employee, Domingo Ogacion, that two coffee pots… Read more

Joanna Lechowicz sued the Condominium for injuries she allegedly sustained, on March 10, 2014 at approximately 6:25 a.m., when she slipped and fell on snow or ice on the sidewalk abutting 130 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, New York, at or near the property line of 12 Meadow Avenue, Bronxville. Wojcjech Lechowicz sought damages for the alleged loss of consortium arising from Joanna’s accident and injuries. The Board moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that the “storm in progress” rule applied. A defendant property owner moving for summary judgment in an action predicated upon the presence of snow… Read more