Legal Decisions…Simplified and Specific.
A distinguished panel of New York co-op/condo attorneys analyze recent NY co-op/condo decisions. Subscribers receive a monthly PDF Digest of these case summaries and takeaways, an Advance Sheet of co-op/condo court cases recently decided, and access to the searchable Tracker database.
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Case Summaries
Focusing only on co-op and condo cases, practicing attorneys in this field prepare case summaries and useful takeaways - helping you understand what the case is about so you can quickly determine if it benefits you.
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Case Watch
Emailed twice-monthly, Case Watch focus on providing insight on one particularly relevant case—clearly explaining what happened, why it’s important, and what lessons can be learned within. Case Watch reaches two audiences: lawyers who subscribe to the Co-op & Condo Case Law Tracker and Habitat Magazine subscribers (co-op and condo board directors, property managers and other industry professionals).
Case Notes See all
Case Notes provides insight on one particularly relevant co-op or condo case—clearly explaining what happened, why it’s important, and what lessons can be learned within.
First published: Apr 2025
The Never-Ending SponsorTAKEAWAY The co-op found itself in trouble by mistakenly asserting that because the sponsor was “not an individual person which is a condition required to qualify as a Holder of Unsold Shares under the cooperative’s offering plan and . . . proprietary lease,” even though the offering plan did not actually require a holder to be an individual. It is unclear whether the co-op’s position was simply an error, or perhaps a calculated gamble to gain leverage over the sponsor and force it to sell apartments. Regardless, co-ops must be very careful in dealing with holders of unsold shares and understand that their proprietary leases likely provide for very different treatment than average tenant-shareholders. Attempting to charge a holder a flip tax will not only result in a loss in court, but will also require the board to pay the sponsor’s attorneys’ fees as well.
Read full articleFirst published: Mar 2025
Luxury Turns Into LiabilityTAKEAWAY Sometimes less is more and discretion is the better part of valor. When a condo board wants to sue for construction defects, it should be careful about who it names in the lawsuit. This case shows that naming successor sponsor/developers or a sponsor/developer’s individual members unnecessarily can lead to wasted time and dismissed claims. In this situation, since the construction defects were solely created by the original sponsor/developer or on behalf of the sponsor/developer, the claims against the successor sponsor/developers and sponsor/developer executives were thrown out entirely. Significantly, the case also confirms that condo boards can only bring viable fraud claims based on affirmative misrepresentations in the offering plan, not omissions in the offering plan.
Read full articleFirst published: Mar 2025
Hallway HeadachesTAKEAWAY In the absence of an express written agreement or specific bylaw provision, a cooperative corporation is not obligated to repurchase common area space or shares from a shareholder-tenant who previously purchased but was unable to use such space in connection with an alteration. Here, although the co-op had agreed in principle to repurchase unused hallway space and shares from the plaintiff, in the absence of a final agreement or applicable bylaw provision, it had no obligation to do so or to waive its standard closing costs. Cooperative corporations and shareholder-tenants should consult the corporation’s bylaws to determine what terms govern the sale and later repurchase of common area space and cooperative shares. To the extent that the bylaws are silent on such issues, parties should consider including repurchase terms in any purchase and sale agreement for common area space and additional shares, to avoid a future dispute regarding the terms of repurchase by the corporation.
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