145 W. 21st Realty LLC v. First West 21st Street LLC, New York County Index No. 653241/2012
New York County Supreme Court Justice Kelly O’Neil Levy has issued a decision adding to the understanding of the party wall rules. In 145 W. 21st Realty LLC v. First West 21st Street LLC, Justice O’Neal Levy granted…
US Bank National Association v. Zeidman, Westchester County, Supreme Court Index No. 52204/2012
Foreclosing lenders often have back-office operations out-of-state. In US Bank v. Zeidman, the foreclosing lender’s back-office operations were performed by a loan servicing company located in California. In support of a motion for summary judgment in foreclosure, the lender filed an affidavit…
SPRE Realty, Ltd. v. Dienst, First Department 651671/2013
The Appellate Division, First Department has clarified the test for whether a broker is entitled to a commission in the absence of a written agreement. In SPRE Realty, the plaintiff-broker showed the defendants a two-unit, duplex, condominium apartment at 397 West 12th Street during the summer of 2008. Thereafter,…
Eastern Savings Bank, FSB v. McLaughlin United States District Court, Eastern District of New York 13 CV 1108
Federal Magistrate Judge Lois Bloom of the Eastern District of New York has held that New York law permits interest to accrue at the default rate even after the plaintiff is awarded summary judgment in foreclosure as…
Gural v. Drasner, Appellate Division, First Department Index No. 103283/2008
The Appellate Division, First Department has limited the applicability of the part performance exception to the Statute of Frauds.
As many real estate lawyers know, the Statute of Frauds, which requires certain contracts for conveyances of interest in real property to be in writing and…
Cadelrock Joint Venture, L.P. v Callender, Supreme Court, Kings County, Index No. 3354/2011
Justice Carolyn Demarest has held that a note holder suing on a note secured by real property must serve the notice required by Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 1304 even though the lender is not seeking foreclosure.
RPAPL 1304 is applicable…
Azad Property Group, LLC v. Willspring LLC, Supreme Court, New York County, Index No. 656626/2013
Commercial Division Justice Marcy Freidman has allowed a broker’s claim for breach of an implied-in-fact contract to pay a commission to survive a motion to dismiss. In this case, the plaintiff alleged that although it did not have a written…
AMT CADC Venture v. 455 CPW, Supreme Court, New York County Index No. 810109/2011
In this mortgage foreclosure action, the court addressed the issue of what constitutes a “first mortgage” for purposes of Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 339-z. This statute provides that the condominium will have a priority lien for unpaid common charges…
1855 7 Ave. Housing Dev. Fund v. Wigfall, New York County Landlord-Tenant Court, Index No. 81069/2010
In this residential landlord-tenant case, a co-op board was successfully able to terminate a tenant-shareholder’s proprietary lease based upon objectionable conduct in violation of the House Rules and the Proprietary Lease that created a nuisance and an unhealthy and unsafe…
Kaplan v. Park South Tenant Corp., New York County Supreme Court, Index No. 157669/2013
While the business judgment rule often protects a decision by a co-op board from legal challenge, there are times when it does not. As a recent decision by New York County Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron demonstrates, the Board’s business judgment…
