A founder and president of CNYC, Mr. Luxemburg is a partner in the New York law firm of Snow Becker Krauss. He presents a workshop every year at CNYC's Housing Conference reviewing court decisions that have particular significance for cooperatives and condominiums.
Water problems are a frequent theme.
In this article, Mr. Luxemburg examines a recent case where the plaintiffs used a buckshot approach to challenging their cooperative, and the Court carefully examined each aspect of their contentions. It is often difficult to diagnose the source of water leaks, and expensive and time consuming to repair leaks involving the exterior shell of the building. What is reasonable in any given circumstance is in part a matter of business judgment but it also turns on the practical issues of whether the steps taken by the Board in fact cure or abate the leaks. The plaintiffs, who had sold their apartment prior to the time the suit was brought, had had water repeatedly leak into the apartment through the ceiling causing damage to the apartment as well as to their personal property for a period of six years while they had owned the apartment. Although the Cooperative was notified of these leaks, it failed to repair the problem.