Many commercial real estate land parcels in New York are held through a long-term ground lease structure. This includes approximately 100 co-op buildings in New York City that are located on property that is ground leased....more
Is a “deed in escrow,” sometimes referred to as a “deed in a box,” enforceable in New York? While many real estate attorneys believe that it is not, a recent court ruling illustrates that the answer may not be as...more
6/19/2024
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Borrowers ,
Deeds ,
Default ,
Escrow Holders ,
Foreclosure ,
Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Right of Redemption
In an appeal heard by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the First Judicial Department of New York, the Court recently ruled that a court may reform a guaranty after the statute of limitations for a reformation of...more
3/29/2024
/ Appellate Courts ,
Borrowers ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Claims ,
Foreclosure ,
Loan Agreements ,
Mortgages ,
Non-Recourse Loans ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Promissory Notes ,
Statute of Limitations
In a recent case, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled that a foreclosure sale governed by Article 9 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was “commercially reasonable” when viewed as a whole, denying claims made...more
In a case litigated in the New York Supreme Court, the Court recently ruled that a private equity firm that acquired a mortgage loan made on the Maxwell Hotel in New York does not have the authority necessary to convert...more
Background. As part of an international effort to recalibrate how banks calculate their risk‑based capital, U.S. bank regulatory agencies (the “Agencies”) recently proposed major changes to how banks would be required to...more
The first compliance period under New York City’s Local Law 97 (LL97) begins on January 1, 2024, and a January 2023 REBNY-commissioned study concluded that over 3,700 properties could be out of compliance and face over $200...more
On December 22, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 1780C, which allows notaries to perform remote online notarization (RON). Effective as of June 20, 2022, this new law means that New York has...more
Recently, the New York City Department of Finance published a Notice of Adoption of a new rule broadening the scope of the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) finance program. The amended rule, which goes into...more
During a special session held on September 1, 2021, the New York State legislature passed a new law that extends the state’s moratorium on residential and commercial evictions and foreclosures until January 15, 2022. The...more
On August 26, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion blocking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) August 3, 2021 order (“New Order”), a last-ditch effort by the Biden administration to...more
On August 12, 2021, the United States Supreme Court agreed on procedural due process grounds to halt enforcement of part of New York’s COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 (the “Act”), which is...more
On Tuesday, August 3, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new order (the “Order”) that prohibits evictions in parts of the country experiencing “substantial transmission” of the COVID-19 virus....more
On June 23, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an end to the state disaster emergency he first declared on March 7, 2020 to contain the spread of COVID-19. Citing significantly reduced rates of infection and...more
On April 14, 2021, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of five landlords against Attorney General Letitia James (“AG James”) in the Eastern District of New York (Chrysafis, et al. v. James,...more
On May 5, 2021, Federal District Judge Dabney Friedrich vacated the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nationwide moratorium on residential evictions (the “Order”), which the CDC had recently extended beyond its...more
On May 4, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill passed by the New York State legislature extending to August 31, 2021 the existing eviction moratorium for residential tenants and independently owned...more
5/6/2021
/ Commercial Tenants ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Foreclosure ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
New York ,
Popular ,
Small Business ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Undue Hardship
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, borrowers and lenders alike have sought clarity regarding the permissibility of UCC foreclosure sales in the midst of the ongoing pandemic and the resulting economic fallout, as...more
3/23/2021
/ Administrative Orders ,
Appellate Courts ,
Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreclosure ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Mezzanine Lenders ,
NY Supreme Court ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Real Estate Market ,
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) ,
Valuation
On March 9, 2021, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York State COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act of 2021 (S471A/A3207) (the “Act”). After a full year of commercial tenants and commercial...more
3/19/2021
/ Commercial Leases ,
Commercial Tenants ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Eviction ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreclosure ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
New York ,
Small Business ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants ,
Undue Hardship
Another federal court has ruled against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nationwide ban on residential evictions (the “Order”), which is set to expire on March 31, 2021. A target of the various lawsuits we...more
On February 24, 2021, five New York landlords filed a complaint in federal court, alleging that Part A of the state’s COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 (the “Act”) violates their...more
3/5/2021
/ Arbitration Procedural Rules ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Eviction ,
First Amendment ,
Joe Biden ,
Landlords ,
Moratorium ,
New York ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Rental Property ,
State Attorneys General ,
Tenants ,
Unconstitutional Condition
Through the continued uncertainty as to how COVID-19 might affect commercial real estate leases and the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants thereunder, the New York courts are attempting to carve out standards for...more
On December 28, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 (the “Act”) passed by the New York State Legislature. The Act (S.9114/A.11181) is...more
New York State has extended the moratorium on commercial evictions and foreclosures through January 31, 2021. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.81 extends the previous deadline of January 1, 2021...more
On November 25, 2020, the Southern District of New York upheld Section 22-1005 of the New York City Administrative Code, which renders personal guaranties contained in leases unenforceable for commercial tenants impacted by...more