Case Notes by
Andrew Brucker, Fox Rothschild
Category
- Access
- Alterations
- Appeals
- Arbitration
- Assessment
- Attorney Fees
- Attorney-Client
- Authority to Sue
- Balcony/Terrace Rights
- Bike Lane
- Board of Directors
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- Business Judgment Rule
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- Tax
- Third-Party Liability
- Transfers
- Trespassing
- Trial Practice
- Veil Piercing
- Violations
- Warranty of Habitability
- Yellowstone Injunction
- Zoning
First published: Dec 2020
Francis v. Kings Park Manor, Inc.The Kings Park decision is a warning to all co-op boards that no complaint between neighbors should be ignored. In the past, many boards took the position that these were personal disputes and that the neighbors should work out a solution between themselves. While this might be the ultimate solution, the board (and management) should not take this stance immediately. The board should take every complaint seriously, and some investigation should take place. While it might be difficult to take action, a co-op board has a few remedies available. Most proprietary leases have provisions that require tenants to act in a cooperative manner and not do anything to disturb or interfere with other tenants’ enjoyment of their homes. Some leases even provide for fines in the event of certain violations of the lease. And, importantly, most leases have a provision (sometimes referred to as the Pullman clause) that states that the board may terminate the lease if it deems actions of the tenant to be objectionable. This advice does not apply only to complaints relating to racial or religious matters. If a tenant objects to noise or smoke from another apartment and the board refuses to get involved, the complaining neighbor might seek a partial abatement of maintenance due to a breach of the warranty of habitability (even though the condition was not caused by the co-op). No court would be sympathetic to the co-op board if it did nothing to investigate or attempt to remedy the problem. Finally, directors are fiduciaries who should be acting in good faith for the good of the co-op and its tenant-shareholders. To fully ignore any complaint is not acceptable. While it may not be necessary to act every time a complaint is received, the best practice is for a board to consider the complaint and to do some investigating in an effort to understand the validity of the complaint, the degree of the problem and possible solutions.
Read full articleFirst published: Oct 2020
Board of Directors of Big Deal Realty on Greene St., Inc. v 60G 133 Greene St. Owner, LLCThere is an important lesson to be learned here. It is currently common for shareholders to request that their shares be transferred into the name of an entity. While in most cases a trust is the entity in question, we have received many requests for transfers to an LLC. Every board should be aware that regardless of the entity, special care should be given to the effect that this latest court decision might have on such a transfer. The board should insist that as a condition to any approval for the transfer to any entity, that it be clear, in a written agreement, that the transfer of the ownership interest or beneficial interest in the entity will be deemed a transfer of the apartment itself. In the case of a transfer to a trust, special care should be taken in regard to the party who has the right to use the apartment. Without this type of agreement, the cooperative risks having a transfer that has not been approved by the board and, perhaps worse, a transfer for which a required transfer fee has not been paid.
Read full article