As the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic continues to have devastating effects on our nation’s economy, particularly for small businesses and restaurants struggling to make ends meet and stay afloat, relief has become available for certain personal guarantors of NYC commercial leases. On May 26, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law Section 22-1005 of the
Leasing
New York Court Deems A Yellowstone Application Essential
From the start of the unprecedented closure of the New York State Courts to new, “non-essential” filings until yesterday, commercial tenants had no remedy against a landlord seeking to terminate a lease as a result of a covenants or payment default. The so-called Yellowstone Injunction, named after a 1968 Court of Appeals case, has protected…
Beware of Use of Estoppel as a Shield in Commercial Real Estate
The New Jersey Appellate Division case of Commerce Limited Partnership, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Edison Furniture, LLC, Defendant-Respondent, 2020 WL 820338, is a cautionary tale on the use of estoppel certificates. Although the opinion is unpublished, does not constitute precedent and is not binding on any court, it highlights a pitfall of sending a party an…
Second Update: Yellowstone Injunctions Revived By The New York State Legislature
We last wrote in May 2019 (updating an earlier post written in February 2018) that the New York State Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, issued a landmark decision affirming the Appellate Division, Second Department’s decision in 159 MP Corp. v. Redbridge Bedford, LLC to uphold a commercial tenant’s waiver of its right to…
Update: New York Court of Appeals Deals Serious Blow to Future Yellowstone Injunctions
In a landmark decision, the Court of Appeals, New York State’s highest court, has endorsed a commercial tenant’s waiver of its right to seek a “Yellowstone” injunction, perhaps sounding the ultimate death knell for this common remedy for commercial tenants who are facing claims of default from their landlords. A Yellowstone injunction enables a tenant…