A major publicly traded company holding numerous New York properties came to ALBPC with a dilemma. Its landlord at a building in a major up and coming neighborhood alleged that the company had been neglecting the rental property for decades. As a result, the landlord was declaring forfeiture of the right to rent the property Full Article…
The Metamorphosis of the Environmental Control Board
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman When coauthor of this article (Bailey) learned how to conduct real estate trials as a young lawyer in Supreme and Civil Courts, the Environmental Control Board (ECB) was where he spread his wings as a trial attorney. While other practitioners joked that the place was a kangaroo court Full Article…
You Can Fight City Hall: Battling for Public Projects
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman According to an ancient truism, “you can’t fight city hall.” In the old days, that was true. Particularly when it came to public works projects, if the city wanted to do it, there was no one to say “no,” except at the ballot box, when it was generally Full Article…
State High Court Decision Exorcises Ghosts of Liens Past
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Secured borrowing and the transfer of money are the bedrock of the global financial system. However, that system finds itself in crisis. Before the current malaise can end, the system must rebuild in a manner that ensures mutual trust between lenders and borrowers. Rapid repair of the economy Full Article…
Title Litigation: Expense of Theft Prevention Dwarfed by the Cost of Fraud
By Adam Leitman Bailey At the start of this new millennium, the most effective means to rob a bank no longer includes the use of a gun. The real estate closing table has replaced the gun and mask as the most favored and effective tool of theft from financial institutions. As the New York Times Full Article…
The Warranty of Habitability: An Unexpected Hazard in Home Mortgage Foreclosure
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Most attorneys and nearly all educated tenants in this State are aware of the existence of the warranty of habitability. Few may know that it is statutory in basis, fewer care that it contradicts the common law, but most would be surprised by the types of occupancy to Full Article…
Recording: The Boundaries of the Whole World
By Adam Leitman Bailey, Dov Treiman and Jackie Halpern Weinstein Basic to any lawyer’s understanding of the recording statutes,1 is the concept that the proper recording of an instrument in recordable form places “the whole world” on notice of the interest claimed in the recorded instrument.2 In a July 2011 Supreme Court decision from Brooklyn, Full Article…
Despite ‘Jones,’ Ambiguities In Title Chain Can Be Cured
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman When the Supreme Court decided Jones v. Flowers,1 it exacerbated a nagging problem for the title insurance industry – the necessity to do constitutional analysis when examining chains of title. With the current state of the economy, tax foreclosures are increasing. Thus, more properties have these ambiguities in Full Article…