Case Notes
November 01, 2019
Defense Based on Federal Law Cannot Confer Federal Jurisdiction
Landlord & Tenant Law
October 01, 2019
Tenant Not Entitled to Recover Consequential Damages for Second Hand Smoke
Tenant Failed to Establish Constructive or Actual Eviction
Failure to Send Statutory Notice Subjects Apartment to Rent Stabilization
Overcharge Claim Dismissed Because DHCR Had Primary Jurisdiction
A Tenant's Perspective on SNDAs: Non-Disturbance Is Not Enough
October 01, 2019
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
Part One of this article outlined the basic elements of a subordination, non-disturbance and attornment agreement (SNDA), which regulates two competing interests in the same property — tenant's right to possess its premises pursuant to its lease and mortgage lender's security interest in that same premises. Part Two explains the differences between the concepts of "non-disturbance" and "recognition," while contending that lease recognition is more important to the tenant than not having its possession disturbed.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
October 01, 2019
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
Case Notes
October 01, 2019
Court Decides Who Is the 'Prevailing Party'
No Duty to Collect Rent from Subsequent Tenant
Landlord & Tenant
September 01, 2019
Landlord Failed to Rebut Presumption of Willfulness
Landlord Substantiated Individual Apartment Improvements
Vacatur of Stipulation for Use and Occupancy Overturned
Occupant's Deception Waived Succession Rights
Setting Rent for Unit First Decontrolled In 1954
A Tenant's Perspective on SNDAs: Non-Disturbance Is Not Enough
September 01, 2019
Part One of a Two-Part Article
This article outlines the basic elements of an SNDA and will explain the differences between the concepts of "non-disturbance" and "recognition," while contending that lease recognition is more important to the tenant than not having its possession disturbed.
Lessor Repossession of Property on Eve of Lessee Bankruptcy
September 01, 2019
Voluntary Turnover or Face Contempt
Lessors who repossess property immediately prior to a lessee bankruptcy filing may be required to return such property or face sanctions by the bankruptcy court. Federal courts are currently split on the issue of whether the lessor must voluntary surrender property seized pre-petition or may hold such property until such time as the debtor seeks, and obtains, an order of turnover.
Fees on Fees
September 01, 2019
Collecting the Legal Fees It Cost You to Collect Legal 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's 2019 Rent Laws: Impact on Commercial Landlords
September 01, 2019
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation modifying existing rent laws and enacting significant landlord-tenant reforms. To date, the real estate industry has focused primarily on the sweeping impact the new laws will have on residential tenancies and the deregulation of rent-stabilized apartments. The reforms, however, also dramatically impact commercial tenancies by altering non-residential summary proceedings and significantly hampering the ability of commercial landlords to respond effectively and quickly to tenant defaults.
