Co-ops and Condominiums

In condo unit owner's trespass, nuisance and negligence claim against an upstairs neighbor, neighbor appealed from Supreme Court's denial of its motion to dismiss. The Appellate Division affirmed, holding that the downstairs unit owner sufficiently supported the claims to avoid summary judgment.

The upstairs neighbor operated a spa in its sixth floor unit during the relevant period and installed wet installations, including a shower and toilets, leaked into dry areas of downstairs neighbor's fifth floor unit. Despite complaints to upstairs unit owner's principal, upstairs unit owner took no steps to address the recurrent leaks until downstairs neighbor obtained a temporary restraining order requiring a shutoff of the wet installations. In this action downstairs neighbor brought claims for trespass, nuisance and negligence, and Supreme Court denied upstairs neighbor's summary judgment motion.