Continental Towers Garage Corp. v. Contowers Associates Ltd. Partnership

141 A.D.2d 390, 529 N.Y.S.2d 322, 1988 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6919
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJune 21, 1988
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 141 A.D.2d 390 (Continental Towers Garage Corp. v. Contowers Associates Ltd. Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Continental Towers Garage Corp. v. Contowers Associates Ltd. Partnership, 141 A.D.2d 390, 529 N.Y.S.2d 322, 1988 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6919 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

Order of the Supreme Court, New York County (Andrew R. Tyler, J.), entered on or about January 26, 1988, to the extent that it denied plaintiffs motions for Yellowstone injunctions against defendants’ termination or cancellation of plaintiffs lease, from interfering with plaintiff’s right of possession of the subject premises, and from commencing any action or proceeding to recover possession of the premises or to declare plaintiffs lease to be terminated based on notices of default issued by defendants on and after August 7, 1987, unanimously reversed, on the law, the facts and in the exercise of discretion, and the motions are granted, with costs.

[391]*391Since 1975 plaintiff Continental Towers Garage Corp. has operated a profitable parking garage at 301 East 79th Street in Manhattan pursuant to a lease which expires on March 18, 2000. The defendant Contowers Associates Limited Partnership acquired title to the premises in January 1987. The individual defendants are managing partners and employees of the limited partnership (hereafter defendant refers to the limited partnership). The plaintiff alleges, and the record contains considerable evidence to support its allegations, that upon assuming ownership of the premises defendant demanded that plaintiff purchase the defendant’s fee interest in the premises, and when plaintiff refused, defendant embarked on a campaign of harassment to evict the plaintiff.

On August 7, 1987 defendant sent plaintiff a notice of default demanding more than $200,000 in tax escalations dating back to 1980, and threatened to reenter the premises "by force” and dispossess plaintiff "by summary proceedings or otherwise” if full payment was not made by August 12. Plaintiff moved by order to show cause before Justice Wright for a temporary restraining order (hereafter TRO) and preliminary injunction, and commenced an action against defendant for declaratory and injunctive relief, and for damages. Justice Wright issued the TRO, and the case was assigned to Justice Tyler. On August 27, the day before the scheduled hearing on the preliminary injunction, defendant acknowledged through its attorney that the August 7 notice of default was defective. The parties thereupon executed a stipulation discontinuing plaintiff’s action without prejudice, pursuant to which defendant agreed to withdraw its August 7 notice of default, agreed not to bring a summary proceeding to dispossess plaintiff without appropriate notice of default pursuant to the lease, and consented to the ex parte entry of an order to show cause and TRO in the event a new notice of default was issued on the same ground as the one previously issued.

On August 28, the stipulation was filed with the court. Plaintiff claims that on that very same day its garage was invaded by two groups of men, one group apparently armed. One of the men claimed to be the "new owner” of the garage "as of yesterday”. These men proceeded to rope off areas of the garage, to block the garage entrance, and to give orders to the plaintiff’s employee. When the police were called, the apparently armed men abruptly left in their van. The remaining men, including the one who claimed to be the new owner, were thereafter escorted from the premises by the police. Also on the same day, the defendant issued to plaintiff another [392]*392notice of default, giving plaintiff "one last chance” to prove what right it had to park cars "as against a bona fide purchaser of the premises for value”, directed plaintiff not to allow any person to park a car unless that person is "connected with the building”, gave plaintiff three business days to provide proof of a $6,000,000 liability insurance policy "or your parking of any cars in the cellar space will be stopped immediately”, advised plaintiff that "we are taking steps to limit parking in the cellar space to what we want to allow for persons connected with the building”, and warned plaintiff that "You are not to interfere with these steps to limit the parking.”

By order to show cause plaintiff moved for a second TRO, which was issued by Justice Tyler on August 28, 1987. The stipulation of discontinuance was vacated, and a date was set for a hearing on plaintiff’s second motion for a preliminary injunction. Defendant argued at the hearing that the ex parte stipulation of discontinuance was improper and that plaintiff was required to commence a new action. A day later plaintiff discontinued the original action and by order to show cause commenced a new action seeking declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief. Justice Tyler recused himself without explanation, and the action was then assigned to Justice Ascione, who signed the order to show cause and issued on September 14, 1987 a TRO enjoining defendant from taking any action to terminate plaintiff’s lease or interfere with the conduct of business operations at the premises, and further enjoined defendant from commencing a summary holdover or other proceeding to recover possession of the premises or to declare plaintiff’s leasehold interest terminated. Defendants cross-moved for summary judgment. On October 7, 1987, counsel for both sides argued the motions before Justice Ascione, who continued the TRO pending determination of the motions.

On November 24, 1987, defendant Contowers commenced an action against plaintiff seeking $250 million in damages plus injunctive and declaratory relief raising essentially the same issues as were raised in plaintiff’s action then pending before Justice Ascione. In December defendant sent three separate letters to plaintiff demanding that it surrender portions of the premises and alleging new defaults. Sometime during this period the matter was reassigned to Justice Tyler, for reasons not disclosed in the record. When on December 30, 1987 plaintiff moved by order to show cause to restrain defendant from taking any action with respect to the December default notices, Justice Tyler was on vacation, and a TRO was issued [393]*393by Justice Hughes restraining defendant from taking any action with respect to the December default letters, and tolling the cure periods contained therein.

On January 4, 1988, defendant sent plaintiff a three-day notice of cancellation of its lease for failure to comply with demands contained in a default letter dated December 8, 1987. On January 8, 1988, the return date of plaintiff’s latest motion, Justice Tyler advised counsel that he would review all the papers submitted and then either reassign the action to a different Judge or render a decision himself. On January 15, 1988, defendant commenced a holdover summary proceeding in Civil Court based on its December 8, 1987 default notice and January 4, 1988 cancellation letter. Plaintiff moved to dismiss the summary proceeding on the ground that it violated the September 14 and December 30 TROs.

On or about January 19, 1988 plaintiff moved by order to show cause for a third TRO with respect to defendant’s latest actions, and for an order holding defendants and their attorneys in contempt. The court took no action on the order to show cause for contempt.

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Bluebook (online)
141 A.D.2d 390, 529 N.Y.S.2d 322, 1988 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6919, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/continental-towers-garage-corp-v-contowers-associates-ltd-partnership-nyappdiv-1988.