Park East Apartments, Inc. v. 233 East 86th Street Corp.

139 Misc. 2d 806, 529 N.Y.S.2d 674, 1988 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 232
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedMay 2, 1988
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 139 Misc. 2d 806 (Park East Apartments, Inc. v. 233 East 86th Street Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Civil Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Park East Apartments, Inc. v. 233 East 86th Street Corp., 139 Misc. 2d 806, 529 N.Y.S.2d 674, 1988 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 232 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lewis R. Friedman, J.

This case requires that a State court interpret a Federal statute despite what the Federal courts in this circuit have done. The statute in question impacts on an area of law which is, and traditionally has been, the bailiwick of the States: regulation of real property is a classic area of local control and legislation. The Condominium and Cooperative Abuse Relief Act of 1980 (15 USC §§ 3601-3616) (the Act) was adopted to afford limited protection to owners of cooperatives and condominiums from certain abusive practices engaged in by unscrupulous developers. The central issue in this case is whether, under the Act, the long-term lease of commercial store space by a developer to itself prior to the sale of the individual units in a cooperative apartment building may be set aside by residential tenant-cooperators after they gain control of the building.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF THIS PROCEEDING

In accordance with an offering plan filed with the Attorney-General of the State of New York, the property was conveyed by the developer, 233 East 86th Street Corporation (the Tenant), to the petitioner here, a corporation formed for the purpose of cooperative ownership. At the closing, petitioner, under the developer’s complete control, executed a lease for the store-front space in the building with Tenant, the respondent here (the Lease). The Lease permits any lawful use, allows subleasing, and assignment, and provides for an annual rental of $5,000, with increases only for increased costs of certain building expenses, for the life of the Lease; if all the renewal options are exercised, the Lease will ultimately expire in 2078, after 95 years. The store space is currently subleased to the respondent undertenant for $60,000; the rent will increase to $75,000 per year. The offering plan accurately described the 95-year Lease and the potential application of the Act.

[809]*809Within two years of the original closing, the shareholders of petitioner, in conformity with the procedures under the Act, voted to terminate the Lease. The votes in favor were more than two thirds of the units other than those owned by the sponsor. On September 20, 1985 petitioner served a notice to terminate the Lease effective November 19, 1985. Respondents unsuccessfully sought injunctive relief (233 E. 86th St. Corp. v Park E. Apts., 131 Misc 2d 242). Supreme Court found plaintiff tenant had not shown that there was a likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, or a favorable balance of the equities; the court concluded that an injunction should not issue. On appeal the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed, without opinion, but noted: "[w]e need not reach the question of the applicability of the statute (Condominium and Cooperative Abuse Relief Act of 1980 [15 USC § 3601 et seq.].)” (123 AD2d 536.)

Petitioner then commenced the instant holdover proceeding. Respondents moved to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action; that motion was granted on petitioner’s default. The instant motion originally sought to vacate that default. The court advised the parties that the issues were sufficiently important that the minor default should not stand. The parties were advised that the court would determine the merits of the motion and that it might treat the extensive affidavits submitted as though this were a motion for summary judgment (CPLR 3212 [c]). The parties submitted additional papers. *

As a threshold matter, petitioner argues that this court is bound by Supreme Court’s conclusion, in deciding the motion for a preliminary injunction, that respondents are not likely to succeed on the merits; therefore, it contends that the motion to dismiss should be denied without plenary consideration. The law in New York is settled that denial of a motion for a preliminary injunction has no effect on the merits of a case. The decision does not "constitute the law of the case or an adjudication on the merits”; also, it does not act as collateral estoppel or res judicata in a subsequent action (Walker Mem. Baptist Church v Saunders, 285 NY 462, 474; Ratner v Fountains Clove Rd. Apts., 118 AD2d 843; Ryger v Segal, 129 Misc 2d 763, 764). That result is particularly appropriate here. The Appellate Division specifically expressed reservation as to the application of the Act to this case. It would be erroneous to give conclusive effect to Supreme Court’s dictum that respondent had no likelihood of success on the merits, which [810]*810relies on its conclusion that the Act applies, where the premise has been disavowed on appeal. Simply put, the conclusion by Supreme Court that the equities did not require that this proceeding be enjoined, which is all that was affirmed, does not preclude this court from determining the merits of the present motion. In any event, the decision in West 14th St. Commercial Corp. v 5 W. 14th Owners Corp. (815 F2d 188 [2d Cir 1987], cert denied — US —, 98 L Ed 151), after the decisions in the injunction case, warrants this court’s consideration of the merits.

THE PROVISIONS OF THE ACT

Congress found that in conversions of property to cooperative and condominium forms of ownership "certain long-term leasing arrangements for recreation and other condominium- or cooperative-related facilities which have been used in the formation of cooperative and condominium projects may be unconscionable” (15 USC § 3601 [a] [3]); the Act was adopted "to assure [that] fair and equitable principles are followed in the establishment of condominium and cooperative opportunities, and to provide appropriate relief where long-term leases of recreation and other cooperative- and condominium-related facilities are determined to be unconscionable” (15 USC § 3601 [b]). Concern over abuses in the conversion process convinced Congress, after extensive hearings, to exercise its Commerce Clause power to legislate in an area of local concern on the grounds that conversions affect the national housing market (Bay Colony Condominium Owners Assn. v Origer, 586 F Supp 30, 32-33 [ND Ill 1984]; cf., Hodel v Virginia Surface Min. & Reclamation Assn., 452 US 264, 276 [1981]; National League of Cities v Usery, 426 US 833, 840 [1976]). The scheme adopted in the Act was a compromise between the Senate, which sought an extensive Federal presence and substantive regulation, and the House, which favored no regulation at all.

Two interrelated sections (15 USC §§ 3608, 3607) govern self-dealing contracts and leases which may be terminated by the purchasers when they gain control of a cooperative or condominium development. Although the sections have been discussed in the Supreme Court injunction action and the Second Circuit decision in West 14th St. Commercial Corp. v 5 W. 14th Owners Corp. (supra), neither case adequately investigated their legislative history. A description of each of those sections is required to put them in context.

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Bluebook (online)
139 Misc. 2d 806, 529 N.Y.S.2d 674, 1988 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 232, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/park-east-apartments-inc-v-233-east-86th-street-corp-nycivct-1988.