Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Fees on Fees
Does your New York commercial lease form expressly provide that the landlord may recover the legal fees it incurs to recover legal fees from its tenant? If not, then the landlord may be out of luck trying to recover such "fees on fees," as they are known. But it wasn't always this way.
New York law provides that a prevailing party in litigation may recover attorneys' fees from the losing party only where such recovery is authorized by an agreement between the parties, by statute or by court rule. See, Hooper Associates, Ltd. v. AGS Computers, Inc., 74 NY2d 487, 491 (1989), followed by TAG 380, LLC v. ComMet 380, Inc., 10 NY3d 507, 515-16 (2008); A.G. Ship Maint. Corp. v. Lezak, 69 NY2d 1, 5 (1986). To be entitled to recover legal fees, the party seeking such fees must be the prevailing party with respect to the central relief it sought in such action or proceeding. See, Nestor v. McDowell, 81 NY2d 410, 415-16 (1993), and 25 East 83 Corp. v. 83rd Street Assocs., 213 AD2d 269 (1st Dept. 1995), both followed by Vanchiro v. Powells Cove Owners Corp., 135 AD3d 851, 852-53 (2nd Dept. 2016).
One benefit to the landlord-client of employing widely-used preprinted commercial lease forms is that the landlord's right to recover legal fees under the provisions of such lease forms have been litigated so frequently that courts can and do cite to the applicable lease articles by rote. See, e.g., Bergman v. Kleinfeld Bridal Corp., 14 Misc3d 1229(A), 836 NYS2d 491 (Sup. Ct. Kings Co. 2007) (citing the Real Estate Board of New York's (REBNY) "standard form store lease provisions" simply by reference to their article numbers and header titles).
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?