BY ADAM LEITMAN BAILEY AND JOHN M. DESIDERIO In 2008, the New York State Legislature enacted sweeping changes to those provisions of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) that govern the circumstances under which title to real property may be acquired by adverse possession.1 The Legislature acted primarily to reverse the ruling of the Full Article…
Drafting a Better and More Effective Right of First Refusal
By: Adam Leitman Bailey & John M. Desiderio January 1st, 2007 Land transfers date back to biblical times and have been the subject of an inordinate amount of litigation. Of course, the importance and value of land and the necessity for shelter might help to explain many of the disputes. Some, however, are due to human Full Article…
Using a License Agreement Instead of a Lease
By Adam Leitman Bailey and John M. Desiderio A number of years ago, I sat down with one of the New York’s real estate legends and his company’s general counsel. He was bothered by New York’s eviction process — the loss of rental income, the wasted legal fees, and the incredible amount of time between Full Article…
Use Nine Arguments to Beat DOB Violations, Apartment Law Insider
If you’re like most owners, you’ve probably spent some time at the Environmental Control Board (ECB) fighting violations issued by the Department of Buildings (DOB). And you know it isn’t easy to beat those violations. That’s why it’s important to have as much ammunition as possible, to fight those violations successfully. To help you, ALI Full Article…
The Most Influential Commercial Lease Cases in the Last Century that Every Drafter and Litigator Must Know, New York Real Property Law Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey & Dov Treiman For almost two years, attorneys at Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. have been compiling a list of the greatest commercial lease cases of all time. The authors have always been fans “greatest” lists—there being something special about choosing the best among so many great people, entertainers, athletes, composers, or, Full Article…
Harnessing the Internet, New York Law Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Colin E. Kaufman The World Wide Web has changed real estate law forever. Harnessing the massive amounts of information on the Internet to enhance the practice of real estate law has become essential for every dirt lawyer. New York’s state and city governments have created useful Web sites to assist Full Article…
The Race to Erase Recording Mistakes, New York Law Journal
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Jackie Halpern Weinstein To protect the integrity of this nation’s property transfer system, the robo-signing controversy must result in a better system of transferring property and loans. Beneath this public debacle exists another old timer in the world of recording: property transfer mistakes. Improper, mistaken, or wrongly executed and indexed Full Article…
Cooperative Foreclosure: The Accidental Doctrine
By Adam Leitman Bailey and Dov Treiman Although the lack of judicial supervision of the cooperative foreclosure process for default upon cooperative apartment mortgages vastly simplifies the lives of lenders’ counsel, under the latest changes in the foreclosure statutes, it creates a nightmare for the title industry insuring titles down the line from such a Full Article…