Major Cases
Decisions of Interest by Zingman & Associates PLLC and under its former name of Stern & Zingman LLP:
• Jekielek v. 260 Partners LP (Sup. Ct. NY Co., Decided December 16, 2020) Noted as a Decision of Interest in the New York Law Journal on December 29, 2020. Successfully convinced the court to compel the defendant entity to produce an individual principal of the defendant as specified by plaintiff for a deposition after defendant produced multiple employees who lacked personal knowledge of the potential fraudulent scheme to deregulate a rent stabilized apartment, but identified said principal as having such personal knowledge.
• The Shack Collective Inc. v. DeKalb Market Hall LLC (Civ. Ct. Kings Co., Decided October 2, 2020) Noted as a Decision of Interest in the New York Law Journal on November 30, 2020. Argued by Cheryl R. Ginsburg of Zingman & Associates PLLC on behalf of respondent. Defeated a food vendor’s petition to hold respondent liable for an alleged illegal lockout, after successfully convincing the court that the parties’ written agreement constituted a license rather than a lease, and that the food vendor’s failure to maintain an “A” restaurant grade entitled the respondent to possession.
• Rubin v. Baumann, et al., 148 A.D.3d 556, 52 N.Y.S.3d 3 (App. Div. 1st Dept. 2017)Obtained on behalf of defendant a reversal of the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment to plaintiff compelling sale of a jointly owned building. Reversal granted based on our argument that plaintiff’s conflicting sales notices nullified each other and that the lower court misinterpreted the contract between the parties.
• Enki Properties N.V. Ltd. v. David Sedaghatar (Sup. Ct. NY Co., Decided November 19, 2015)Obtained award of summary judgment against guarantor of commercial lease for tenant’s unpaid rent and legal fees in the amount of $125,797.92.
• Alejandro Estrella v. Carmen Y. Morales, as Administrator of the Estate of Hector Madera (Surrogates Court, Kings Co., Decided February 3, 2015)Obtained dismissal of claim for specific performance of a contract for the sale of real property by establishing after a thorough investigation that the plaintiff had failed to pay the downpayment under the contract.
• Jovan Galindo v. Jewish Board of Family and Children Services et al. (Civ. Ct. Bronx Co., Decided December 2, 2014)Successfully defeated the petitioner’s false claim that the landlord, a not for profit provider of housing, had illegally locked the petitioner out of the subject apartment.
• 16 East 96th Apartment Corp. v. Sam Akita et al (Civ. Ct. NY Co., Decided July 2, 2014)Obtained summary judgment in a commercial nonpayment proceeding, awarding landlord a judgment of possession and monetary judgment of $190,750.02.
• Alrose Plaza LLC v 234 Utica Operating Corp. d/b/a Burger King (Civ. Ct. Kings Co, Decided June 30, 2014)Obtained summary judgment in a commercial nonpayment proceeding, awarding landlord a judgment of possession and monetary judgment of $65,016.85. Obtained dismissal of the tenant’s defenses, including defenses pertaining to landlord’s failure to make repairs in the subject premises.
• Alrose Carmine, LLC v Trihop Carmine, LLC (Civ. Ct. NY Co., Decided June 12, 2014)Successfully evicted a tenant after dismissing a tenant’s defenses pertaining to the validity and application of a conditional limitation clauses in a commercial lease.
• Feingold v. River Place I Holdings LLC (Sup Ct. NY Co., Decided January 10, 2013)Successfully obtained a declaratory judgment on behalf of a rent stabilized tenant that the landlord may not preclude him from living with up to 3 roommates in his apartment under his lease.
• Metropolitan 885 Third Avenue Leasehold, LLC v. Aegis Holding Lipstick LLC (Civ. Ct. NY Co., Decided December 6, 2012)Obtained a judgment of possession, money judgment of $612,835.76 with an award of legal fees in a commercial non-payment proceeding following trial. Defeated tenant’s claims that it was improperly billed for additional rent charges.
• Doubet LLC v. The Trustees of Columbia University of the City of New York, et al, 99 A.D.3d 433, 952 N.Y.S.2d 16 (App. Div. 1st Dept., 2012)Obtained a money award on behalf of a judgment creditor against garnishee who had violated restraining notices. Successfully argued for an expansion of the scope of a restraining notice to validly restrain a contingent debt and that the recipient of the restraining notice, a foreign corporation authorized to do business in New York, was required to restrain the property even though the restraining notices were mailed to an out-of-state garnishee and sought to restrain out-of-state property.
• WM Wellington LLC v. Grafstein Diamond Corp. et al, (Civ. Ct. NY Co., Decided June 10, 2011)Successfully defeated a residential non-primary residence proceeding proving landlord had wrongfully switched the name of the tenant of the lease to a corporate entity.
• Igor Construction Corp. v. 25 West 36th Realty Corp. (Sup. Ct. NY Co., Decided March 10, 2011)Obtained dismissal of action against building owner and discharge of mechanic’s lien based on plaintiff’s failure to timely file a notice of pendency.
• Figaredo v. Figaredo (Sup. Ct. Kings Co., Decided January 5, 2011)Obtained order in a partition action directing that the subject property be sold, that the proceeds be divided according to the formula advanced by plaintiff, and that the defendant was responsible for expenses pertaining to the property where he had excluded plaintiffs from the property.
• Shoshany v. Goldstein, 20 Misc.3d 687, 860 N.Y.S.2d 908, (Civ. Ct. NY Co. 2008) Successfully argued that a tenant in a holdover proceeding was required to pay ongoing use and occupancy, defeating the tenant’s arguments that petitioner was required to show that the tenant engaged in dilatory tactics and that tenant’s breach of warranty of habitability claims preclude an award of interim use and occupancy.
• Loewentheil v. O’Hara, et al, 30 A.D.3d 360, 819 N.Y.S.2d 496 (App. Div. 1st Dept. 2006) Successfully argued that minority shareholder of corporate defendant should be granted leave to intervene on behalf of the corporate defendant.