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
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
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
New York State has extended the moratorium on commercial evictions and foreclosures through January 1, 2021. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.70 extends the previous deadline of November 3, 2020, in order to “align...more
On September 18, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.64, extending the moratorium on evictions and foreclosure actions against commercial tenants and owners facing financial hardship due to...more
On April 27, 2020, five Missouri retailers filed a putative class action suit against their insurance provider, The Cincinnati Insurance Company, for breach of contract relating to the insurer’s denial of coverage under the...more
8/26/2020
/ All-Risks Insurance ,
Business Income ,
Business Interruption ,
Class Action ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Insurance Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Property Insurance ,
Retailers
As borrowers continue to experience financial distress and loans go into default as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and related issues, lenders are now becoming more focused on the need to take a closer look at...more
The Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020, introduced on July 10, 2020 by Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou (D) and Senator Julia Salazar (D), proposes to cancel residential rent payments and mortgages for small homeowners...more
On June 30, 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act (the “Act”). The Act (S.8192B (Hoylman)/A.10290B (Dinowitz)), sponsored by New York State Senators Brad Hoylman and Liz...more
On May 26, 2020, New York City enacted a law that renders personal guaranties unenforceable for commercial tenants impacted by COVID-19. Section 22-1005 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York states that a...more
As borrowers fall into financial distress as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, or otherwise, and loans default, some lenders look to foreclose their mortgage and mezzanine loans. While there is little judicial...more
Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.8 on March 20, 2020, which initially established a 90-day stay on evictions and foreclosures, among other measures designed to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 and provide...more