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Our readers who follow the news are aware that the Federal government has been partially shut down for several weeks.  President Trump has taken the position that he will not agree to re-open the government unless a wall is erected along our southern border.  The Democratic leadership has responded that it will absolutely not agree that a wall is to be installed.  It is not the goal of this author to side with either of these positions.  Rather, we find it striking that neither side is negotiating effectively.  By stating an absolute, such as there must or must not be a wall, both sides are preventing a satisfactory resolution; which requires agreeing to terms that inherently will be neither of these positions.  Presenting an “all or nothing approach” is not how matters are successfully concluded.  This post will address one of the tools that experienced attorneys have at their disposal- strong negotiating skills.  We will explore how these skills are utilized in various legal matters.

Negotiation strategies can take the following course in real estate transactions.  We recommend that parties to a proposed deal let their attorneys “do the talking” and thereby prevent themselves from showing emotion or desperation to sign the contract.  Otherwise, such a party is vulnerable to agreeing to issues in the contract that may not be beneficial and result in regret.  For instance, a seller who needs to sell for financial reasons or who may be facing foreclosure, without other viable offers, may agree to excessive demands from the buyer like making repairs, credits for inspection issues, etc.  On the flip side, a buyer “in love” with a particular house that has multiple offers in a strong Spring market may agree to risky decisions such as waiving the mortgage contingency, allowing violations to remain and the like.  The more prudent negotiation move is to allow only a qualified attorney to be aware of these factors, not display feelings and allow the attorney to be the only one to negotiate on a party’s behalf.

Commercial lease negotiations  contain their own strategy.  A tenant may want to be in a particular location and find it necessary to tolerate the unreasonable expectations of a landlord.  For instance, a landlord may wrongfully impose snow removal obligations on the tenant.  The tenant’s attorney can get more leverage in this negotiation if the tenant is willing to walk away and find another location instead.  Such flexibility may help to achieve better results for the client.  Perhaps the landlord has an opportunity to rent to a “big box” nationally known tenant.  In such a case, the tenant will require that its form of lease be signed and will not be amenable to many landlord requirements.  Locating another tenant who is willing to accept landlord demands could be best in some situations.

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convent-300x223Recently in the news is a decision in a lawsuit regarding the potential eviction of a defrocked nun in a Russian Orthodox convent located in Nanuet, New York.  This case is an interesting intersection of two areas of the law that our firm practices; namely, how the decisions of a religious organization can affect the disposition of real property, as well as the residents of said real property.

Prior blog posts have discussed how religious corporations must obtain approval from the New York State Attorney General in order to sell, lease, or mortgage real estate owned by the religious organization.  This often causes disputes where there are different factions within the religious organization, and these factions cannot agree on whether to sell real estate in order to relocate the place of worship.  As prior posts have discussed, courts are reluctant to intervene in disputes which are solely the result of disputes over religious doctrine.  However, disputes over control of a religious organization which can be resolved on the basis of neutral principles, that is, without second-guessing decisions made solely on the basis of theological grounds, may be resolved by the court.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution generally forbids government involvement in religious disputes.  This principle also applies to the Courts, which are, in essence, instruments of the government, whether state or federal.  The lawsuit under discussion involves attempts to allow an ejectment action against a nun who was defrocked by her parent religious organization, the Russian Orthodox Convent Novo-Diveevo.  Our blog has previously discussed evictions against certain “non-traditional” tenants, such as licensees and invitees, who usually do not have written leases, but reside at certain properties.  The usual course of action in such matters is to serve a Notice to Quit, giving the tenant (often referred to as a licensee or invitee, depending on the specific situation) thirty days in which to vacate the premises.  If they do not vacate, the owner of the property can then either bring a petition for eviction in the local landlord-tenant court, or, in cases involving more complex issues, a civil action for ejectment in the Supreme Court in which the property is located.

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We have advised our readers of the process for bidding at a foreclosure auction sale in New York.  Perhaps you have attended the auction, participated and made the highest, winning bid.  This post will address what happens next.

Upon making the highest bid, the participant will need to make an immediate payment of ten (10%) percent of the bid price.  The auctioneer will provide a written receipt and the parties will sign the receipt.  The successful bidder should contact an experienced attorney  and provide the Notice of Sale, Terms of Sale and Receipt to his attorney.  Your attorney should review these documents to ensure compliance by the successful bidder as well as the party auctioning the property.

Typically, Terms of Sale provide for the bidder to close and receive the Referee’s Deed to the property within thirty (30) days of the auction sale.  Failure to do so may result in the loss of the deposit and the auctioning party offering the property to the next highest bidder or holding a second auction.  Therefore, the successful bidder should be prepared to pay the balance with readily available liquid funds, without the need to apply for a mortgage.  The attorney should order a title report, which will be bound in a title policy at closing, so that no other liens will encumber the property and the status of real estate tax payments is known for adjustment purposes.  Then, the successful bidder will have the benefit of title insurance.

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auction-300x200Our firm receives many inquiries from parties who intend to bid at a foreclosure sale.  Foreclosure sales most often occur when a party is unable to pay a mortgage encumbering a property, and a foreclosure judgment is obtained by the lender.  What happens next?  A foreclosure sale, or auction, is scheduled by the lender.  This must be properly noticed by having all parties served with the Notice of Sale, as well as having the Notice published in a general circulation publication, which the Court will order, such as the Journal News in Westchester.

Once all notices have been given, the sale is usually held in the lobby of the Courthouse of the Supreme Court in the County in which the foreclosed property is located.  Most courthouses in New York State set aside a specific area or room in their building to hold such auctions, which are open to all members of the public.  Prior to the auction date, it is wise for potential bidders to have experienced counsel review the terms of sale.

The sale is then conducted by the Referee for the foreclosed property.  The Referee is an individual, usually an attorney, who has been appointed by the Court to conduct the auction and transfer the property after a judgment of foreclosure has been obtained by the lender, who is the plaintiff in the foreclosure lawsuit.  The Referee’s role is to prepare all documents, conduct the auction sale, and then prepare the property transfer documents and convey all funds to the lender after the auction.

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temple-228x300Recently in the news is the filing of a lawsuit relating to the alleged mismanagement of a New York synagogue located in the Chelsea section of Manhattan for almost 100 years.  The lawsuit alleges that an individual hired as a Rabbi for the temple has breached his contact by removing the antique pews in the synagogue, and then renting the space out for large and raucous parties.  It also alleges that the Rabbi may not even be a properly ordained Rabbi, and has committed many other acts in violation of his contact, as well as violating the Sabbath and Kosher laws governing the synagogue.

While evaluating the merits of this new case is beyond the scope of this post, many of these general issues often come up when our firm is consulted in matters relating to disputes regarding religious institutions.  Prior blog posts have discussed employment issues as well as disputes between different “factions” in a religious institution, be it a synagogue, mosque, temple, or other place of worship.

When our firm is consulted on such a matter, the first question is whether there is a written contract with the individual in question.  Most clergy have a written agreement with the congregation that delineates the rights and responsibilities of all parties.  The specific duties of the individual should be explained in detail.  For example, the number of services to be held, the frequency of such services (weekly, monthly), and the important religious holidays for which services are expected to held on an annual basis.  As with any employment contract, the compensation should also be detailed.  There should be a specific term of employment, such as five years.  It is possible that there could be a renewal clause which gives the congregation an option to renew the contract after its expiration for a set period of time.

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eviction-300x220Our firm frequently handles eviction actions on behalf of both landlords and tenants.  In order to commence an eviction action, the tenant is served with a Notice of Petition and Petition.  These documents state the date, time and location of the Court in which to appear. One common occurrence is when a tenant fails to appear in Court for a scheduled hearing.  This post will address how such a situation is resolved.

Sometimes the tenant fails to appear at the hearing.  Whether it is because they did not actually receive the notice, cannot get to Court for health reasons, a failure to understand the nature of the proceedings, or otherwise, the Court will enter a default against the tenant.  What this means is that by failing to appear and present a defense, the landlord is entitled to receive the relief requested in their Petition.  Depending on the type of eviction proceeding, this relief will usually consist of a money judgment (in a non-payment proceeding) for the amount of rent claimed to be owed by the tenant, as well as a warrant of eviction.  The warrant is a legal document that allows the property owner to enlist a City Marshal or Sheriff (depending on where the property is located) to physically evict the tenant and remove his belongings from the premises.

Depending on the particular local court in which the action is brought, the Judge may sign these documents immediately or they may be submitted to the Court Clerk for the Judge’s signature at a future date.  Once the warrant is signed, the landlord will send it to the City Marshal or Sheriff to proceed with the eviction.   The tenant will then be served with a 72 hour notice, which states that the eviction will proceed in three days.

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anchorNews outlets have recently reported that numerous Sears locations will be imminently closing.  Our readers are most likely aware that Toys R Us has closed all of its locations due to its bankruptcy filing.  Both Sears and Toys R Us would be considered anchor tenants by commercial landlords.  An anchor tenant leases a large square footage space or is of the nature of a large and influential company such as Starbucks or Apple.  Anchor tenants such as department stores and movie theaters draw customers to the mall or shopping center, so that the same customer continues to shop at the premises and patronize its other businesses.  Once an anchor tenant closes, the landlord should seek to locate another anchor tenant to fill the vacant space, so that the shopping mall will draw customers to the anchor location and benefit the other businesses in the mall by drawing shoppers.  This post will examine the provisions that a potential anchor tenant will ask its attorney  to have included in a lease.

Exclusive use can often be demanded by an anchor tenant.  Should Bed Bath and Beyond be the proposed tenant, it may require in its lease that the landlord may not lease another space in the shopping center to a tenant that sells home décor, bedding, kitchen equipment and the like, so as to minimize competition that may hinder its business.  Should the landlord violate such an exclusive use provision, the tenant’s lawyer may have negotiated a rent abatement and right to terminate the lease.  In addition, many anchor tenants present their own form of lease to the landlord, rather than sign the landlord’s version of the lease.

Signage is very important to anchor tenants.  Anchor tenant leases may include a provision that the anchor tenant must always be the first name on mall signage and be of the largest font size.  Visibility of signage is also important, so that the anchor store’s name is listed on internal building directories, directional signs throughout the mall and the like.

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