Case Notes by

Stewart E. Wurtzel, Tane Waterman & Wurtzel

First published: Sep 2023
Neighbor Against Neighbor

TAKEAWAY Noise disputes are such a common occurrence, but in this case the cooperative should consider itself lucky that it was not named in the suit. It issued a notice of termination against a shareholder who was subject to abuse, while apparently taking no action against the neighbor who the court found was engaging in uncivilized behavior and who might have held sway because of a personal relationship with an officer of the cooperative. Laying that aside, shareholders should be aware that they could be subject to nuisance and emotional distress claims when they engage in uncivil and inappropriate conduct against a neighbor. A month doesn’t go by in our practice without hearing a complaint that shareholders are being abusive to each other; the court may well have laid a pathway for an affected shareholder to properly deal with it.

Read full article
First published: Jul 2022
Who Pays the Piper

This case is a stark reminder to condominiums that many of their bylaws do not provide the right for the condominium to recover attorney’s fees when a unit owner defaults on a non-monetary obligation. Boards should look to amend these provisions to allow for legal fee recovery since there are many common situations where a condominium board is forced to bring action to enjoin a non-monetary default (unauthorized alterations, illegal use, unreasonable noise, and short-term rentals are just a few).

Read full article
First published: Jul 2022
Bd. Of Mgrs. Of 207-209 E. 120th St. Condo. V. Dougan

TAKEAWAY This case is a stark reminder to condominiums that many of their bylaws do not provide the right for the condominium to recover attorney’s fees when a unit owner defaults on a non-monetary obligation. Boards should look to amend these provisions to allow for legal fee recovery since there are many common situations where a condominium board is forced to bring action to enjoin a non-monetary default (unauthorized alterations, illegal use, unreasonable noise, and short-term rentals are just a few).

Read full article
First published: Jul 2022
Bd. Of Mgrs. Of 207-209 E. 120th St. Condo. V. Dougan

This case is a stark reminder to condominiums that many of their bylaws do not provide the right for the condominium to recover attorney’s fees when a unit owner defaults on a non-monetary obligation. Boards should look to amend these provisions to allow for legal fee recovery since there are many common situations where a condominium board is forced to bring action to enjoin a non-monetary default (unauthorized alterations, illegal use, unreasonable noise, and short-term rentals are just a few).

Read full article
First published: May 2022
When Termination Turns Ugly

Discrimination of any type against any group can be a costly claim. Here, the co-op is facing claims from the management company and the individual agent, both of whom alleged discriminatory treatment. The individual director is also facing a separate claim for tortious interference for terminating the management contract, and the cooperative may be subject to almost four years’ worth of contract damages ($201,780) if the contract is found to be wrongfully terminated. Boards must be ever vigilant to ensure that their decisions are not biased against any protected class and made in compliance with the terms of the contracts to which they are parties. The fact that a board changes composition does not give it carte blanche to ignore the terms of agreements signed by an earlier board.

Read full article