Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Summer 2020 Newsletter

1. NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
WWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/articles/
third-party-
tenant-
harrassment/
New York common law has long shielded
landlords from tort liability for intentional
injury suffered by one tenant at the hands of
another tenant, unless the landlord “has the
authority, ability, and opportunity to control the
actions of the assailant.” Britt v. New York City
Housing Authority, 3 AD2d 514, 770 NYS2d
744, 745 (2d Dept. 2004).
THE 'FRANCIS' DECISIONS
However, this shield was recently pierced by
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
in Francis v. Kings Park Manor, 944 F3d 370 (2d
Cir. 2019) (Francis III), en banc review granted,
949 F3d 67 (2d Cir. Feb. 3, 2020), in which the
court held that a landlord may be liable under
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the
Fair Housing Act (FHA), 42 USC §3604(b), “for
intentionally discriminating against a tenant
based on the tenant’s race, where the landlord
THIRD-PARTY TENANT HARASSMENT POSES DILEMMA FOR LANDLORDS
Read more
online
alblawfirm.
com/articles/
residential-
building-
covid-19/
SUMMER 2020 NEWSLETTER
allegedly refused to take any action to address
what it knew to be a racially hostile housing
environment created by one tenant targeting
another, even though the landlord had acted
against other tenants to redress prior, non-race
related issues.”
In addition, the court also held that such
“post-acquisition conduct,” occurring after the
initial rental transaction and during the period
the plaintiff actually resided in the rental prop-
erty, separately violated FHA §3617 which
makes it “unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threat-
en, or interfere with any person in the exercise
or enjoyment of, or on account of his having
exercised or enjoyed, or on account of his
having aided or encouraged any other person in
the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted
or protected by section…3604.” 42 USC §3617.
In doing so, the Second Circuit majority
opinion relied upon the Supreme Court’s “direc-
tive” that the FHA’s language has a “broad and
inclusive compass,” see City of Edmonds v.
Oxford House, Inc., 514 US 725, 731 (1995),
and thus the court’s majority read the FHA’s
text “broadly” to include the liability standard
applied in employment discrimination cases
adjudicated under Title VII of the 1964 Civil
Rights Act, 42 USC §2000e-2(a)(1), which
prohibits employers from creating or tolerat-
ing a hostile or abusive working environment,
arising from discriminatory motives or actions,
based on race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin—wheth-
er or not the employer has
himself engaged in the alleged
harassment. See, e.g., Davis v.
Monsanto Chemical Co., 858
F2d 345 (6th Circuit 1988)...
RESIDENTIAL BUILDING LAWS & THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The COVID-19 pandemic has confronted
owners, managers and boards of New
York City rental, condominium, and cooper-
ative-owned buildings with operational chal-
lenges that few, if any, buildings have ever
experienced since the so-called Spanish Flu
pandemic -- a hundred years ago. The “social
distancing” rules and restrictions imposed by
governments at all levels has spawned ques-
tions that buildings ask and are asked by their
residents regarding the responsibilities and
duties of both managers and occupants of the
buildings.
New York residential multiple
dwellings generally fall into the three categories
of rental, condominium, or cooperative apart-
ment buildings. To write this article looking at
the short and long-term legal implications and
issues affecting residential living during COVID-
19 pandemic, we researched and analyzed
court cases handling similar issues from the
Scarlet Fever epidemic, the Spanish Influenza
pandemic, to today’s Executive Orders and
federal and state case law and legislation
during the last century.
PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF BUILDING
OCCUPANTS
The primary responsibility of building
managers, whether they be owners of rental
buildings, or members of cooperative boards
or members of the boards of managers of
condominiums, and/or their respective prop-
erty managers or managing agents, is to main-
tain the health and safety of their buildings and
their occupants. See Multiple Dwelling Law,
§2 (Legislative Finding). “The statutory and
regulatory scheme which governs and controls
the supervision of residential buildings in the
City of New York is based upon the social and
economic premise that it is the responsibility of
the owner of residential buildings to maintain
the building, remove violations and insure that
the tenants have habitable premises in which
to live.” Torres v. Ragonesi, 83 Misc.2d 84, 370
NYS2d 779 (NYC Civil Court, New York County
1975).
Ownership or management is therefore
required to maintain the building common
areas in compliance with the public health
code. See NYC Administrative Code, §17-133
(Penalties)(“Every person, corporation, or body
that shall violate or not conform to any provi-
sions of the health code of the City of New York,
or any rule or sanitary regulation made, shall be
liable to pay a penalty not exceeding the maxi-
mum amount allowed by the health code of the
City of New York.”).
In the context of the COVID-19
pandemic, ownership’s duty is to maintain
the building in a manner that protects its
occupants against the spread of the disease.
Management’s obligation, in epidemic condi-
tions, is to implement all necessary and appro-
priate precautions to prevent the spread of
disease. This duty was recognized long ago in
Majestic Hotel v. Eyre, 53 AD 273, 65 NYS 745
(1st Dept. 1900)(a case involving an epidemic
of scarlet fever), where the Court declared...
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION
Adam Leitman Bailey & John M. Desiderio
DUE DILIGENCE AND TRANSACTIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF MULTI-FAMILY DWELLINGS
Adam Leitman Bailey & John M. Desiderio

2. 2 SUMMER 2020 (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/articles/
regina-decision/
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
adverse-
possession-
win/
AdamLeitmanBailey,P.C. is a full service real estate, litigation, and business law firm.
For more information about the firm or for a complete copy
of any of the decisions and articles mentioned, please contact
Adam Leitman Bailey at 212-825-0365 or email him at info@alblawfirm.com.
On April 2, 2020, the New York State Court
of Appeals issued a split decision (4-3) on
a string of four rental overcharge cases in the
Matter of Regina Metro Co. v. New York State
Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal, 2020 NY
Slip Op 02127, holding that the retroactive appli-
cation of the newly enacted rent overcharge
provisions (Part F) of the Housing Stability and
Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) offend-
ed traditional notions of substantial justice
embodied in the Due Process Clause. In partic-
ular, the Regina court ruled that the HSTPA’s
mandate compelling owners to produce their
entire rental history—from the beginning of
time—in connection with defending against
rental overcharge claims would be fundamen-
tally unfair, because owners only had a legal
obligation to maintain such records for a period
of four years under the prior law. See former
Rent Stabilization Law (RSL) §26-516[g]; see
also Rent Stabilization Code (RSC) §2523.7[b].
Consequently, Regina has now lifted the chill
that had been imposed over the purchase
and sale of rent-regulated buildings under
the HSTPA’s radical expansion in opening the
review of an apartment’s entire rental history.
Massimo D’Angelo, “Sweeping Reforms to Rent
Overcharge Under New Rent Laws,” New York
Law Journal (Dec. 13, 2019).
THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW
As Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the
United States John Marshall enunciated over
200 years ago in the landmark case Marbury
v. Madison, 1 Cranch 137 (1803), which estab-
lished the doctrine of judicial review:
It is emphatically the prov-
ince and duty of the judicial
department to say what the
law is. Those who apply the...
‘REGINA’ DECISION NIXES
HSTPA’S RENT OVERCHARGE
RETROACTIVITY
ADVERSE POSSESSION WIN DESPITE FORGETTING PROPERTY
FOR 13 YEARS
The case felt like a John Grisham movie.
The seller of an investment property sold
it to two different people within a month of
each other. We represented the first buyer,
who although was convicted for property fraud
many years earlier, had innocently purchased
this property and forgot about it thirteen years
before the case was started. Adam Leitman
Bailey, P.C. was against two of the largest law
firms in the world. An executive from another
big city had flown in to attend the mediation to
be held at the larger law firm’s offices on a floor
that only held conference rooms with no art
or pictures on the white walls and wood. The
mediator walked into our designated meeting
room and took a seat. Looking at our client he
explained exactly why our client was going to
lose the case:
LANDLORD REPRESENTATION
1.The case was scheduled for a jury trial on
Monday and the jury would not like our client or
the facts of the case.
2.That he was a convicted felon for property
fraud.
3.That he lied on his withdrawn bankrupt-
cy petition as he had been required to list the
subject property as an asset.
4.He was lying claiming that he forgot that he
owned the subject property for 13 years.
5.Allegations that his deed...
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/novel-
decision/
REAL PROPERTY ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS LAW (“RPAPL”) § 881
–NOVEL DECISION EFFECTING THE RIGHTS OF DEVELOPERS – IN
NEW YORK CITY – ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. DEFEATS EMERGENCY
APPLICATION CONCERNING PERMANENT ENCROACHMENTS BEFORE
APPELLATE DIVISION
Following the Supreme Court’s landmark
ruling in Tompkins 183 LLC v. Frankel, grant-
ing the Developer of a residential and commer-
cial building in the East Village a license to install
permanent encroachments in the form of party
wall tie-backs in the shared party wall d that
were necessary for the Developer to proceed
with the demolition of its existing building, the
Adjacent Owner filed an emergency application
before the Appellate Division seeking an imme-
diate stay of the installation of such permanent
encroachments by the Developer.
The Adjacent Owner sought a stay of the order
and argued that the tie-backs constituted an
impermissible permanent encroachment under
RPAPL Section 881, was in violation of existing
authority, and would result in irreparable injury.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. appeared on
behalf of the Developer and argued to the
Appellate Division that the party wall tie-backs,
which spanned a mere three inches (3”) into the
joists of the Adjacent Owner’s building, were
being installed by licensed engineers for the
sole benefit of the Adjacent Owner. Specifically,
the party wall tie-backs were required in order
to structurally secure the Adjacent Owner’s
building so that the shared party wall did not...
APPELLATE LITIGATION
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION

3. 3WE GET RESULTSWWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
scheming-
commercial-
tenant/
LANDLORD REPRESENTATION
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/articles/
negotiating-abatement/
In the midst of the current economic deep
distress, there are, and will continue to be,
countless communications from tenants to real
estate owners requesting forbearance from the
payment of rent.
This will in turn no doubt trigger requests from
owners to their lenders, requesting forbearance
with respect to mortgage payments. The follow-
ing discusses some of the relevant consider-
ations, as well as existing moratoriums, as they
apply to residential and commercial loans. The
discussion concludes with a brief overview
of the Federal Paycheck Protection Program,
which offers forgivable loans that may be used
to pay, among other things, mortgage interest.
Admitting Inability to Pay Debts – Commercial
Loans: While it is likely that most lenders will
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. EVICTS
AND SECURES FULL RECOVERY
FOR A LANDLORD AGAINST A
SCHEMING COMMERCIAL TENANT
AND NO PERSONAL GUARANTY OF
THE LEASE
Apersonal guaranty of a commercial lease
is the only means of requiring someone
to pay the rent when acorporate commer-
cial tenant defaults. Too often, a new proper-
ty owner assumes a commercial lease that
itspredecessor failed to secure with a personal
guaranty. Where there is no guarantor for the
rent, a corporate commercial tenant nearing
the end of its lease term, can manipulate the
judicial process and landlord-tenant procedural
laws to slow down collection proceedings. This
enables it to profit off the leased premises with-
out paying a dollar of rent for the last months of
the lease. That commercial tenant will even try
to leverage the fact that it can get away without
paying rent for those last months of the lease
in an effort to negotiate better terms for a new
lease.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. represented a
property owner who unfortunately acquired an
unguaranteed corporate lease, for a bustling
pizzeria business. Approximately five months
before the end of the lease term, the commer-
cial tenant stopped paying base rent and addi-
tional rent due for real estate taxes and water-
charges. In month one of its default, a principal
of the corporate tenant attempted to leverage
its own default to negotiate a discount on the
balance of the lease and a lower rent for a new
term.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. immediately
commenced a nonpayment proceeding and
fast tracked it through the statutorily prescribed
lengthy procedure by staying one step ahead in
the process, preparing and serving notices the
instant the law allowed and vigorously advocat-
ing and convincing judges that the tenant was
using the judicial process...
act reasonably and not take unfair advantage
of the current situation, it makes sense for
real estate owners to take appropriate caution
in their communications with lenders. In this
regard, we note that many non-recourse carve-
outs in loan documents provide, as an excep-
tion, a borrower’s admission of inability to pay
its debts.
Although Courts have held that such admis-
sion, in order to trigger a non-recourse carve-
out, must be very explicit and direct to the
lender (excluding, for example, an admission
of financial distress in a government filing), it
would be prudent to couch the communica-
tion to the lender in as tentative a manner as
possible. For example, a real estate owner
should avoid telling a lender that its tenants will
not be paying rent and that this would make it
impossible to make mortgage payments [thus,
perhaps, admitting insolvency]. Instead, a real
estate owner should say to its lender something
like the following:
Our tenants are requesting
rent forbearance and we would
like to consider granting such
forbearance under current...
PURCHASE AND SALE OF HOMES
LANDMINES BORROWERS AND LENDERS NEED TO AVOID WHEN
NEGOTIATING ABATEMENT AND DEFERRALS
ALBPC SECURES SETTLEMENT OVER CONTESTED EASEMENT
FORECLOSURE LITIGATION GROUP
Boundary disputes are commonplace for
home owners, and the attorneys at Adam
Leitman Bailey, PC are well equipped and more
than prepared to handle every manner of these
neighborly disputes.
Through title insurance, ALBPC represented
the Defendants in this particular action. The
parties to this action shared a common drive-
way by virtue of an easement contained in the
deeds for Defendants’ property dating back
to the 1920’s, which permitted Defendants
egress over the westerly four feet of Plaintiffs’
property.
Plaintiffs installed a fence on the common
driveway, which fence infringed upon the ease-
ment area. After Defendants complained to the
City, seeking to revoke Plaintiffs’ permit for the
fence, Plaintiffs commenced an action pursu-
ant to Article 15 of the New York Real Property
and Proceedings Law, seeking a judicial decla-
ration that the easement was extinguished due
to Defendants’ purported non-use.
Using their expertise in the law of ease-
ments, the attorneys at ALBPC argued that
easements by grant can only be extinguished...
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
contested-
easement/

4. 4 SUMMER 2020 (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
neighbor-
easement-
dispute/
TITLE LITIGATION
We are in the calm before the storm. With
the state court system shut down for
non-emergency matters, and evictions and
foreclosures stayed, businesses have little
reason to file for bankruptcy now, even though
the Bankruptcy Courts are open and work-
ing remotely. However, once the COVID-19
emergency measures ease, and the civil court
system resumes operations, it is inevitable that
many businesses will file bankruptcy due to
coronavirus-related financial distress.
A commercial tenant entering bank-
ruptcy should be a cause for concern, but not
despair, for a landlord. The bankruptcy code
provides landlords of commercial property with
some significant protections, and, more import-
ant, in many cases, a reasonable shot at having
the tenant emerge from the process with its
business and lease intact. However, there are
several things that every landlord should under-
stand about the bankruptcy process in order to
maximize the opportunity to achieve the best
results possible under the circumstances. The
overarching thing to recognize is that commer-
cial bankruptcy is a practical and results-orient-
ed process, where compromise and accommo-
dation are highly encouraged, and that many of
the rules and requirements can be modified if
the parties agree and the changes make sense.
The information in this article is
necessarily general, and each rule discussed is
riddled with exceptions and special situations,
so there is no substitute for consultation with
experienced bankruptcy counsel. This article
is also focused on bankruptcies of small and
local businesses because there are additional
considerations with larger and more complex
bankruptcies, though the basic principles are
the same. But whatever the size of the tenant,
knowing some basic information can help
significantly in speeding the process by which a
landlord and its counsel respond to a tenant’s
bankruptcy and maximizing the landlord’s
recovery.
UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A
BANKRUPTCY IS FILED
Bankruptcies are started by the filing
of a bankruptcy petition with the Bankruptcy
Court, an act with several immediate conse-
quences to the person or company filing, known
after filing as the debtor, and all of the debtor’s
creditors.
Most significant
is the automatic stay that...
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/articles/
landlords-facing-tenant-
bankruptcy/
5 POINTERS FOR LANDLORDS FACING
TENANT BANKRUPTCIES
BANKRUPTCY AND CREDITORS’ RIGHTS
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
PREVAILS IN NEIGHBOR EASEMENT
DISPUTE AND PREVENTS COSTLY
LITIGATION
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. recently settled
a easement dispute amongst neighboring
homeowners in record time and without the
need to resort to litigation. Long-time home-
owners in Brooklyn were experiencing problems
with their neighbors who recently purchased
the adjacent brownstone property and were
threatening to commence rear yard work, which
entailed extensive demolition, excavation,
repurposing that area for non-parking purposes,
including the creation of a landscaped garden
in one half of the area, and a fenced area along
the western boundary line of the property.
Concerned that the rear yard work would
materially interfere with their ability to utilize
and enjoy the 2-car parking garage behind their
property in a manner contrary to the way the
rear yards in both properties have been utilized
for close to 100 years the homeowners, having
hear about Adam Leitman...
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. WINS SUMMARY JUDGMENT CLAWING BACK FRAUDULENT CONVEYANCES FROM
INSOLVENT JUDGMENT DEBTOR
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. recently secured
summary judgment with the rare addition
of attorneys fees related to a judgment debt-
or’s fraudulent conveyance made to avoid
collection of an outstanding judgment. Adam
Leitman Bailey, P.C. represents the creditor
bank to collect a substantial 2015 judgment
against a contracting company and its prin-
cipal, the debt guarantor – for defaulting on
several lines of credit. As soon as judgment was
entered, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. launched
aggressive post-judgment collection efforts,
issuing subpoenas and restraining notices to
parties, witnesses, and financial institutions.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. deposed the judg-
ment debtors, friends, and family members
and conducted an intensive investigation into
the debtors’ money, property, and expatriated
assets.
After the judgment debtors refused to comply
with subpoenas, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.
moved to hold them in contempt of Court, with
a risk of fines or imprisonment if they continued
to stymie our judgment collection activity. The
debtors capitulated and Adam Leitman Bailey,
P.C.’s investigation uncovered that: (i) just prior
to the judgment being entered against the judg-
ment debtors the guarantor transferred large
amounts of cash from bank accounts in Ireland
to his wife, who then withdrew the cash the next
day for personal use; (ii) disposed of three prop-
erties in Ireland in an attempt to keep them
out of the Bank’s grasp; and (iii) conveyed two
Westchester County properties to a close busi-
ness friend and business associate.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. caught the judg-
ment debtor lying under oath about the exis-
tence of the Irish properties and their illicit
transfer and moved for their immediate turn-
over to partially satisfy the judgment debt
and for sanctions. Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C...
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
fraudlent-
conveyances/
REAL ESTATE LITIGATION

5. 5WE GET RESULTSWWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/bank-
closing-covid/
Read more online
at alblawfirm.com/
articles/cuomo-extends-
deadline/
MORTGAGE FINANCE
GOVERNOR EXTENDS CERTAIN
CONDOMINIUM OFFERING PLAN
DEADLINES
On April 16, 2020, Governor Cuomo issued
Executive Order 202.18 (EO 202.18), which
among other things, extended several dead-
lines applicable to condominium and coop-
erative offering plans. EO 202.18 tolls sever-
al deadlines that could prevent condo/co-op
sponsors from completing and selling condo/
co-op projects, though it does not significantly
change most ongoing reporting requirements.
Among other things, it:
Tolls the requirement that the requirement
that a sponsor offer rescission to buyers if the
first closing in the condo/co-op does not occur
within one year of the projected beginning of the
first year of operations contained in the offering
plan (or the amendment effective at the time
the buyer’s purchase contract was signed).
•Tolls the obligation that a sponsor declare
an offering plan for the conversion of an occu-
pied building effective within 15 months after
the offering plan is accepted for filing.
•Tolls a sponsor’s requirement to include or
update a budget for the projected first year of
condo/co-op operations in any offering plan or
amendment.
•These tolls last for the duration of EO
202.18, but all affected offering plans must be
updated within 30 days of its expiration.
EO 202.18 does not change the regula-
tions that provide that the term of an offering
is extended by six months by the filing of a
substantive (non-price change) amendment,
and that if no amendment is filed within six
months of the last substantive amendment (or
after 12 months once the first closing occurs),
the sponsor must cease sales activity until a
substantive amendment is filed.
In sum, EO 202.18 extends some of the long-
term milestones that condo/co-op sponsors
are required to meet or their developments to
become viable for the duration of the COVID-
19 emergency, but spon-
sors are still required to keep
their offering plans updated...
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
CLOSES LOAN DURING CORONA.
“WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN EXCUSES.”
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has left
many uncertainties for the future of tradi-
tional in-person closings but for now the show
must go on! Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. (ALBPC)
was scheduled to represent the lender and
attend a closing in Westchester during the early
developments of the COVID-19 outbreak. As
the closing date was approaching Westchester
was considered one of the fastest growing loca-
tions for positive confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. prepared for the clos-
ing and took necessary precautions to ensure
the safety of our staff while delivering the same
quality of service to our client. Adam Leitman
Bailey, P.C. suggested that the purchaser and
seller close by Power of Attorney to limit the
number of...
CONDOMINIUM AND COOPERATIVE
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. OBTAINS INJUNCTIVE RELIEF HALTING
TENANT FROM ABUSING BUILDING STAFF
LANDLORD REPRESENTATION
When a disruptive tenant in a rent stabilized
building located in the Lower East Side of
Manhattan began verbally abusing, harassing,
and threatening a unionized building doorman
and refused to abide by building rules, the
landlord turned to ALBPC attorneys for assis-
tance. Rather than commence a long drawn-
out eviction proceeding in Housing Court,
ALBPC attorneys commenced a Supreme
Court action asserting causes of action declar-
atory and injunctive relief and attorneys fees.
Accompanying the complaint, ALBPC attor-
neys also moved by order to show cause for
an immediate temporary restraining order
that the tenant be curbed by Court order from
continuing to abuse building staff. ALBPC’s
filings included multiple affidavits from build-
ing staff and management personnel contain-
ing detailed first-hand accounts of the tenant’s
despicable behavior and abuse towards staff.
ALBPC creatively argued that immediate injunc-
tive relief was warranted because if the land-
lord was not proactive and allowed the abuse
towards unionized building staff to continue,
the landlord was subject to the possibility of
these staff members filing and prosecuting
complaints for hostile work environment.
In a big victory for the landlord, at oral argu-
ment on the motion, the judge agreed with all
of ALBPC arguments. After admonishing the
tenant in open court for her terrible behavior,
the Court granted the requested temporary
restraining order in its entirety. After the...
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
injunctive-
relief/
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. SAVES
CLIENT’S CONTRACT DEPOSIT
PURCHASE & SALE OF HOMES
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. represent-
ed the purchaser of a luxury property in
Southampton, NY whose six-figure contract
deposit was being threatened by a seller refus-
ing to timely comply with the terms of the agree-
ment between the parties. The seller failed to
close open construction permits for certain
building improvements and was also unable
to deliver marketable and insurable title to the
premises, yet sought to unilaterally extend the
contract for an indefinite period of time to cure
such defects. The purchaser was unwilling to
wait and wanted the immediate return of their
contract deposit.
The purchaser, who was initially represented
by different legal counsel at the outset of the
transaction, entered into a contract of sale for
the property with a target clos-
ing date “on or about April 15,
2020” that required Seller...
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/case-studies/
saves-clients-contract-
deposit/

6. 6 SUMMER 2020 (212) 825-0365
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/qa/
regulation-non-profits/
HOW DO THE NEW RENT
REGULATIONS LAWS AFFECT
NON-PROFITS?
Question: How do the new rent regulation
laws affect a corporate lease to a nonprofit
organization? If I want to lease the whole vacant
building to a nonprofit how can we ensure that
the potential tenants won’t become stabilized?
Answer: If the building is operating under
a municipal contract to provide housing to
the homeless, then the tenants are exempt
from rent stabilization. If there is no municipal
contract, however, it is subject to rent stabili-
zation unless otherwise exempt. One of those
exemptions is where a charitable organization
or nonprofit is using the premises for its affil-
iates. This does not mean its clients. So, for
example, if a University is using the premises
to house its professors and
students, those are affiliates.
If, for example, the Salvation
Army is using it to house...
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
order-
to-show-
cause/
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C. DEFEATS ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE STAYING
FORECLOSURE AUCTION
Borrower, a commercial landlord, who also
ran a business in one of the commercial
units, defaulted on his mortgage in 2013.
Before hiring ALBPC, the Lender commenced
a foreclosure action in federal court, which
resulted in a judgment that permitted the fore-
closure and sale of the property, however, the
Court later found that the parties lacked diver-
sity, and the Lender was unable to proceed in
the federal foreclosure action. Lender’s initial
counsel then commenced an action in Supreme
Court to domesticate the Federal Judgment of
Foreclosure and Sale by summary judgment in
lieu of complaint, but its motion was denied.
Given all of the setbacks, Lender retained
ALBPC to prosecute the foreclosure action.
ALBPC quickly strategized the proper procedur-
al step to take and submitted a motion for judg-
ment and the appointment of a referee. The
Court granted the motion, and ALBPC was set
to schedule a foreclosure auction.
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C., WINS
JUDGEMENT FOR COMMERCIAL
LANDLORD IN SUPREME COURT
PLENARY BREACH OF LEASE
ACTION
Representing a commercial landlord in
Supreme Court, Nassau County—after
first obtaining possession of the premises in
a summary proceeding—Adam Leitman Bailey,
P.C., obtained a judgment against a commercial
tenant for breach of a lease agreement, based
on the tenant’s failure to pay rent and addi-
tional rent. The court awarded damages both
for the rent owed through the date the tenant
vacated the premises and for the time period
after vacating until a new tenant began paying
rent for the premises.
The tenant first unjustifiably stopped paying
rent in the fall of 2018. ALBPC commenced a
non payment proceeding. The tenant, through
counsel, agreed to vacate the premises before
expiration of the lease. However, as part of
that agreement, we expressly carved out and
reserved our client’s rights under the lease
and did not release the tenant from its lease
obligations.
Without a guarantor of the lease, any mone-
tary recovery would need to come from the
tenant itself. Accordingly, after the tenant
vacated, we tracked the tenant to its new
location and monitored as the tenant contin-
ued to operate via the same business entity.
Meanwhile, the landlord marketed the empty
premises and, several months later, signed a
lease with a new tenant.
We then calculated all of the tenant’s rent
obligations through the date that the new
tenant began paying rent. These included base
rent and additional rent in the form of real
estate tax payments, water/sewer charges,
a proportionate share of insurance charges,
a proportionate share of monthly mainte-
nance and service charges, and late fees. The
lease also permitted the landlord to recover...
Read more
online at
alblawfirm.
com/case-
studies/
plenary-
breach/
Borrower, who was still running a business
out of the property and collecting rents on the
property, took every step to stop the auction.
The first scheduled auction was canceled
due to a bankruptcy filing. The second sched-
uled sale was canceled due to a second bank-
ruptcy filing. To combat the third scheduled
sale, and since a third bankruptcy filing would
not trigger the automatic stay, Borrower moved
by order to show cause for an order staying
Lender from holding a foreclosure auction on
the ground that the Borrower allegedly had a
buyer and would satisfy the mortgage.
ALBPC opposed the motion...
FORECLOSURE LITIGATION GROUP
TENANT REPRESENTATION
COMMERCIAL LANDLORD
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/
articles/covid-19-business-
interruption-insurance-law/
COVID-19 MAY SHAPE NY
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
INSURANCE LAW
On the scale of pandemics, the novel coro-
navirus, commonly referred to as COVID-
19,[1] is unprecedented, and ranks among one
of the worst in human history, not only in terms
of its virulence, but in economic destruction as
well.
While scientists hastily work toward devel-
oping a vaccine and antiviral drugs to combat
COVID-19, world leaders in the countries afflict-
ed by the virus have imposed strict governmen-
tal lockdowns, barred travel, closed courts,[2]
blocked tourism and employed social distanc-
ing measures in an effort to stop the rapid
spread of the pathogen.
In the state of New York, Gov. Andrew M.
Cuomo recently issued a string
of executive orders[3] shut-
tering schools, courts and...
COMMERCIAL LEASING SERVICE

7. 7WE GET RESULTSWWW.ALBLAWFIRM.COM
NEW YORK REAL ESTATE ATTORNEYS
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/case-
studies/landlord-and-tenant-
settlement/
Read more at alblawfirm.com/honors-
awards/top-39-law-firms/
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.
ONE BATTERY PARK PLAZA
EIGHTEENTH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10004
Read more online at alblawfirm.com/honors-
awards/whos-who-legal/
COMMUNITY/HOME
Read online at alblawfirm.com/community/
rachel-ferguson-recieves-the-2020-raymond-
hap-harrison-scholarship/
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY WAS
AWARDED THE MARQUIS WHO’S
WHO HUMANITARIAN AWARD 2020
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY SPEAKS
ON BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
INSURANCE PANDEMIC ISSUES
FOR AMERICAN COLLEGE OF REAL
ESTATE LAWYERS.
RACHEL FERGUSON RECIEVES THE
2020 RAYMOND “HAP” HARRISON
SCHOLARSHIP
As part of the Building Foundations organi-
zation, Adam Leitman Bailey founded the
Raymond “Hap” Harrison scholarship over a
decade ago, in honor of his high school cross
country and track coach, who inspired him
greatly. Since then, the scholarship has been
awarded each year to recent high school grad-
uates planning to attend college in the fall.
This year Adam Leitman Bailey presented
the Raymond “Hap” Harrison Scholarship to
Rachel Ferguson of Vanguard High School in
New York, New York. Ms. Ferguson is currently
a high school intern at Adam Leitman Bailey,
P.C. where she assists with a variety of tasks
around the office, including providing aid to
the paralegals as well as to the marketing
department. Rachel’s hard work, dedication,
and determination to her every task is akin
to the greatness that Adam Leitman Bailey...
Adam Leitman Bailey
presented to the
American College of Real
Estate Lawyers an engaging
lecture on business inter-
ruption insurance affected
by the COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion
covered which insurance policies would provide
coverage as a result of the the pandemic under
the social distancing orders. In addition, he
discussed the basics of qualifying for such
insurance and the physical impact requirement.
Second, he discussed unique arguments to...
WHO HUMANITARIAN AWARD 2020
ALBPC ADVOCACY SECURES
FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT FOR
BOTH LANDLORD AND TENANT
New York state law possesses statutes
which bar tenants from wrongful eviction
due to having a roommate. These statutes also
permit a tenant to sublet, so long as they have
acquired permission from their landlord. As the
cost of living in New York City remains the high-
est in the nation, many residents must pool
their resources just to get by. Moreover, with
the size of the traditional family being smaller,
many larger apartments are being rented by
groups of young people in order to mitigate the
high price of rent.
One such situation was with the occupants
of a large four bedroom apart-
ment located near a presti-
gious university. The landlord...
ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY, P.C.
RANKED IN TOP 39 REAL ESTATE
LAW FIRMS IN NEW YORK
SUCCESS IN REPAIR
NEGOTIATIONS WITH
CONDOMINIUM SPONSOR
NEW CONSTRUCTION
Upon purchasing and moving into a new
condominium in Brooklyn, New York, our
client was promised a litany of repairs would be
made in her unit, based on her punch list, which
was signed by her and the condominium spon-
sor at the unit closing. The items on the punch
list included floor and baseboard repairs, wall
cracks and repainting, replacement of various
windows which were scratched, water pressure
issues, and various additional cosmetic and
fixture issues.
The client was offered a settlement by
the Sponsor prior to obtaining representa-
tion by Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.. The settle-
ment offered by the sponsor was for a mini-
mal amount that sponsor said
would cover the client’s floor
replacement. There was little
else in the agreement. Trust...
Read more online at
alblawfirm.com/case-studies/
repair-negotiations/
TENANT REPRESENTATION
AWARDS
alblawfirm.com/speaking-engagements/
insurance-committee-zoom/
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
AWARDS

8. ADAMLEITMANBAILEY,P.C.
OneBatteryParkPlaza,EighteenthFloor
NewYork,NY10004
Tel:212-825-0365
Email:info@alblawfirm.com
RETURNSERVICEREQUESTED
Presorted
FirstClassMail
USPostage
PAID
Farmingdale,NY
PermitNo.125