Melville, NY
Landlord or tenant Lawyer at Melville, NY
Practice Areas: Landlord & Tenant, Medicaid & Medicare ... +3 more
OUTCOME: Success
Obtained a trial verdict that a physical agility test employed by a volunteer fire department was discriminatory against women as “employees” under the Civil Rights Act. Successfully defended the verd ... ict on appeal before the Second Circuit, whose decision represented the first time that the Title VII prohibition of discrimination in employment had been held applicable to a volunteer (as opposed to a paid professional) fire department.
OUTCOME: Success
Represented the landlord in this holdover proceeding, in which the Appellate Term had initially excused the tenant’s failure to comply with the strict notice requirements of the lease appeal, based upo ... n the “course of dealings between landlord’s attorney and tenant’s attorney.” Successfully obtained reversal of that ruling on appeal to the Appellate Division, which required adherence to the strict notice requirements of the lease, and concluded that there was no evidence in the record that the landlord had waived proper notice.
OUTCOME: Success
Represented a landlord in this appeal and successfully obtained a reversal of the judgment of the Supreme Court which had concluded that an issue of fact existed as to whether the landlord breached an ... implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in commercial leases, by refusing tenant’s proposal to re-let the premises to substitute tenants. The Appellate Division concluded that the landlord did not breach the good faith covenant, since the landlord acted within its rights in refusing to accept an assignment, and did nothing to prevent the tenant from performing its lease obligations to pay rent.
OUTCOME: Success
Represented a landlord in this action against a partnership and the individual doctor who signed the lease on behalf of the partnership company. The Supreme Court agreed with us that an individual par ... tner may be jointly liable for the partnership debts when the partnership’s property is insufficient. The defendants had argued that the partnership was really a corporation (not a partnership) and therefore the individual doctor should not be held liable. Successfully established that the doctor was a “partner by estoppel.” The Supreme Court concluded that one who makes and consents to continued representations that a partnership exists, is estopped to deny the existence of the partnership. The court recognized that “partnership by estoppel” is not to be lightly invoked and generally raises issues of fact, but held that here the evidence left no question for trial.
OUTCOME: Success
Prevailed upon the Second Department to reverse the Suffolk County Supreme Court, holding that CPLR 2101(e), and not judicial preference or litigation custom, controls and a copy, rather than an origin ... al, of an affidavit may be filed in support of a CPLR 3212 motion for summary judgment. Additionally, the Court held that the tenant’s attempt to surrender the key to the demised premises did not prevent the landlord from continuing to seek the rent for the balance of the lease term. This is because I represented the landlord from the beginning of the dispute and prepared a response letter for the landlord’s signature acknowledging receipt of the key, but noting that the lease “expires May 31, 2011,” and explaining to the tenant, among other things, that “we do not accept early surrender of the lease.” The Appellate Division granted landlord total relief for all of the rent due until the end of the lease term, and its attorneys’ fees and costs, and dismissed the tenant’s affirmative defenses and counterclaim.
OUTCOME: Success
Won the reversal of a Supreme Court order denying a motion to dismiss a complaint which sought the return of the tenant’s security deposit, based on the defense of a “release” contained in stipulation ... of settlement of a prior landlord-tenant proceeding. In so holding, the Appellate Court recognized that “public policy favors the enforcement of settlements, and the release is ‘a jural act of high significance without which the settlement of disputes would be rendered all but impossible.’ Generally, a valid release constitutes a complete bar to an action on a claim which is the subject of the release, and should not ‘be converted into a starting point for renewed litigation.’” In rejecting the tenant’s argument, the Court further concluded that “contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, the terms of the release clearly and unambiguously encompass this action inasmuch as plaintiff’s claim to the disputed security deposit is contingent upon the terms of the subject lease.”
OUTCOME: Success
On behalf of the landlord, I obtained reversal of a Nassau County District Court ruling which had granted the tenant’s motion to dismiss a non-payment summary proceeding upon the ground that the landlo ... rd had not provided a ten-days notice to cure. The Appellate Term agreed with us that the lease required 10 days notice to cure only if the landlord elects to treat the nonpayment of rent as an event of default and terminates the lease. The court concluded that nothing in the lease required the landlord to treat tenant’s nonpayment of rent as an event of default or foreclosed landlord from bringing a nonpayment summary proceeding based on a three-day demand for rent, which is a statutory prerequisite to such a proceeding (as opposed to a holdover proceeding).
OUTCOME: Success
Represented a landlord who, after drawing down a letter of credit in the amount of $675,000, commenced an action against the tenant and subtenant, which guaranteed two month’s rent, for breach of the l ... ease in failing to pay rent to the end of the lease term. The subtenant argued that the landlord was required to first apply proceeds of the letter of credit towards the two months of rent. The court agreed with me that the lease required the letter of credit to be applied in a way most favorable to the landlord to minimize the losses caused by the breaching tenant and subtenant, totaling $1,094,350.23.
OUTCOME: Success
Successfully represented a Town Police Chief in his challenge to a Town Board resolution mandating his separation from service on his 55th birthday based upon a State Comptroller opinion. The Appellat ... e Division agreed with us that the Comptroller’s opinion was not entitled to deference and that it was incorrect under the plain reading of controlling provisions of the State Retirement and Social Security Law. The court concluded that our client was not required to retire upon turning 55 because he had lawfully transferred to a service plan with a higher mandatory retirement age.
OUTCOME: Success
On behalf of a defaulting buyer under a contract for the sale of stock, I successfully argued on appeal that the seller’s election (through a letter from its attorney) of the remedy of strict foreclosu ... re, prohibited the seller from subsequently pursuing additional relief against the buyer for the resulting deficiency.
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