New York Real Estate Litigation Attorneys
Muchmore & Associates PLLC is experienced in litigating disputes between property owners and claimants over contracts of sale, commercial leases, commercial mortgages, easements, adverse possession, and intestate succession. We also litigate special proceedings under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law for access to adjoining property, the partition of real property, quiet title, and ejectment.
New York's rising real estate prices engender disputes over construction contracts, leases, sales contracts, mortgages, licenses, easements, partitions, and estates. The legal framework surrounding these disputes is complex and requires competent counsel. Whether you are litigating a dispute with a neighbor, co-owner, or tenant, or just negotiating a contract, our firm can help you.
Broad Real Estate and Development Experience
The attorneys at Muchmore & Associates PLLC represent clients in negotiations and disputes over construction, leases, sales, mortgages, licenses, and easements to real property. The firm is particularly familiar with the problems encountered by developers and contractors, including license negotiations and special proceedings for access to adjoining properties. We have litigated disputes involving sales contracts, commercial leases, property lines, property damage, and co-owners of properties. In addition to representing developers, the firm’s principal has personally developed New York commercial and multi-family properties.
Contact Us to Schedule a Free Initial Consultation
Contact us at (917) 932-0299 to schedule a free initial consultation if you are involved in a real estate dispute, including the following:
Construction Litigation: Construction litigation is a highly specialized area of law. Construction contracts are often riddled with exculpatory clauses, including notice of claim requirements, no-damage-for-delay clauses, pay-when-paid clauses, liquidated damages clauses, and change order approval processes. The New York Lien Law and New York Prompt Payment Act also impose strict deadlines and obligations. Failure to comply with these statutory and contractual obligations can result in the waiver of your claim or in substantial liability to the adverse party. Our lawyers have litigated virtually every aspect of construction law and established new precedents on important issues.
Real Estate Sales Contract Disputes: There is a great period of uncertainty in each real estate sales contract between contract signing and closing. There are typically numerous conditions that need to be fulfilled, and contingencies that may allow the real estate purchaser to rescind the contract and obtain a refund of the deposit. A buyer or seller will often seek to avoid the contract based on alleged misrepresentations, non-fulfillment of conditions or other factors. Our real estate attorneys can defend you in litigation or compel enforcement of your rights under the contract.
Commercial Leases: The firm's attorneys are experienced in drafting and negotiating commercial leases, and litigating disputes that arise under commercial leases. Most commercial leases in New York City are based on a form promulgated by the Real Estate Board of New York, supplemented by a rider with deal-specific provisions. From the lessee's perspective, a good commercial lease should have a sufficient duration to recoup your investment, and a "good guy clause" to ensure that if your business cannot meet its financial obligations, you can surrender possession without incurring personal liability.
Mortgage and Lien foreclosures: The firm's attorneys can bring foreclosure actions against real estate that is encumbered by mechanic's liens, tax liens, mortgages and judgments. Mortgage foreclosures in New York are governed by Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Art. 13. Lien Foreclosures in New York are governed by Lien Law Art. 3. Filing a lien or recording a mortgage is just the first step and is rarely sufficient to secure payment. Our lawyers can bring an action to foreclose upon a mechanic's lien or mortgage and force the sale of the property if the owner fails to issue payment.
Vacating Mechanic's Liens: The New York Lien Law provides a number of mechanisms to vacate a mechanic's lien. If you have a bonding line with a surety, the easiest way to discharge a mechanic's lien is to file a lien discharge bond pursuant to Lien Law 19(4). If you do not have a bonding line, you can deposit money into court pursuant to Lien Law 20. In either case, if the lien holder fails to commence a lien foreclosure action, the lien will expire, and litigation will be unnecessary. To expedite the process, you can serve the lienor with a demand to foreclose pursuant to Lien Law 59. If the lienor then fails to commence an action within 30 days, the lien will be vacated. Finally, you can move to summarily discharge a mechanic's lien pursuant to Lien Law 19(6) if the lien is defective on its face.
Insurance Coverage Litigation: Most lawsuits commenced against owners of real estate are covered by general liability insurance. However, insurers often disclaim coverage based on late notice of claim and exclusions in insurance policies. In such cases, our attorneys can commence declaratory judgment actions to resolve insurance coverage disputes and compel defense and indemnification under the insurance policy. Even if the insurer may not be liable for the underlying claim, insurers have a broad duty to defend you that goes beyond the duty to indemnify. While the dispute over insurance coverage is pending, we can defend you from the underlying claim and assert claims against other parties that may be liable.
Warranties and Construction Defects: Real estate sales contracts and construction contracts in New York frequently include warranties. New York Real Property Law § 462 also imposes obligations on sellers of real estate to make certain disclosures. However, once the seller or contractor has been paid, it can be hard to enforce a warranty without litigation. Particularly with condominium developments, the sponsor often disappears after the last unit is sold and enforcement of contract rights may require litigation. Where warranties are breached or construction defects are concealed, our attorneys can compel the breaching party to honor warranties and correct defects through litigation or the threat of litigation.
Access to Adjoining Property: In New York, it is common for contractors to need access to adjoining properties to make necessary improvements and repairs, such as underpinning of foundations and installation of temporary scaffolding. This is typically done by securing the neighbor's permission and negotiating a license to access their property. However, where adjacent property owners are unwilling to grant a license, New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 881 provides a summary proceeding whereby the contractor can obtain a court-ordered license to access adjoining property.
Actions for Partition: Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Art. 9 provides that one who holds an interest in real property as a tenant in common may bring an action against other tenants in common for the partition or sale of the property. A person seeking a court-ordered sale without the consent of co-owners must prove that a physical partition would be impractical. The feasibility of partition generally depends upon the dimensions and zoning of the property. The partition of real estate in New York can be complicated and requires the assistance of a real estate lawyer.
Arbitration and Mediation: Arbitration and mediation clauses are common in construction contracts. They influence the time and cost of resolving a dispute. Even where not required by the contract or the Rules of the Commercial Division, mediation can provide an efficient means of settling disputes without large litigation costs. Unlike mediators, arbitrators have the power to compel the resolution of a dispute. Arbitrators are often more familiar with construction issues, particularly arbitrators operating under the American Arbitration Association's Construction Industry Arbitration Rules. However, arbitrators must be paid hundreds of dollars per hour, typically by the claimant, subject to possible shifting of those costs in the arbitration award. Our attorneys have experience arbitrating disputes before the American Arbitration Association and JAMS and litigating proceedings under CPLR Art. 75 to compel arbitration and to enforce or modify arbitration awards.