landlord Archives

Dec 18, 2019

Landlords Beware: The Georgia Supreme Court Rules on Contractual Limitations Periods in Lease Agreements

Drafters and landlords beware when drafting a contractual limitations period for legal actions in a lease that attempts to limit when both contract and tort actions can be brought by a tenant. The Georgia Supreme Court in Langley v. MP Spring Lake, LLC, No. S18G1326, 2019 WL 5301853 (Ga. Oct. 21, 2019), considered whether a provision in a lease agreement requiring “any legal action” to be brought within a year included premises liability actions and whether such a clause would be enforceable if it did. Without deciding the issue of enforceability, the Supreme Court held that the limitations provision as… Read more

Jun 21, 2012

Mold Revisited

Despite an earlier court decision that has been widely interpreted as holding that landlords in New York (including cooperatives and condominiums) had no liability for alleged bodily injury from mold, the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court for the First Department has issued a decision making clear that the issue remains very much in play. In a memorandum in October of 2006 we advised our cooperative and condominium clients of a Supreme Court decision in the Fraser case[1] which found that then-current scientific evidence did not support a conclusion that mold or damp indoor environments cause illness. … Read more

Apr 15, 2009

Security Deposits

A recent decision of the New York County Supreme Court[1] stressed that the statute governing the holding of security deposits[2] applies to cooperative apartments. Although, as a matter of practice, most cooperatives comply with the provisions of the statute, it is worth reviewing the statutory requirements. The statute requires all landlords (including cooperatives) that hold security deposits in connection with leases (including proprietary leases and subleases) to place such deposits into segregated bank accounts and not to commingle the deposits with any other funds. In addition, for buildings of six or more residential units, the segregated account must be interest-bearing,… Read more

Oct 5, 2006

Mold

The New York County Supreme Court issued a decision on September 27, 2006, finding that current scientific evidence does not support a conclusion that mold or damp indoor environments cause illness. The lengthy decision was issued after an extensive hearing. This is a very important decision for all landlords, including cooperative and condominium boards, and indicates a growing trend among courts across the country to view evidence of mold-caused illnesses with increasing skepticism. In Fraser v. 301-52 Township Corp., the plaintiffs (husband, wife, and child) sued their cooperative for personal injuries allegedly caused by mold in their water-damaged apartment. The… Read more