Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. Compels Board to Remediate Illegal Floor and Pay Client’s Legal Fees
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. was retained by a cooperative owner who was in an impossible situation because of actions taken by her board. Essentially, the board ignored New York City noise regulations and permitted the installation of an illegal floor in a unit above the cooperative owner. The floor was made from bamboo and turned the cooperative owner’s living situation into a nightmare. It also substantially devalued her very expensive Manhattan property to the point where the unit could have been unsaleable. To make matters worse, the board adamantly fought against the cooperative owner’s request for the board to replace that floor to remediate the noise issue.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. was retained and moved very aggressively to put an end to this. A sound expert was retained and they proved beyond all doubt that the sound caused by the floor was in violation of New York City Law. Even faced with this report, the board would not relent. Accordingly, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. commenced an action against the board and against the offending unit above our client’s home. Because the board had insurance, they were able to get an insurance company to hire counsel to defend them in the litigation. This presented yet another challenge to our client because the board did not feel the pressure to pay legal fees. Fortunately, attorneys from Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. knew how to handle this action to leverage a favorable settlement for its client.
The board was so defiant during litigation that they also had created a substantial legal bill for Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client from many court appearances. Counterintuitively, that worked to the board’s disadvantage because, under the terms of the proprietary lease for the entire building, the board is responsible for the payment of legal fees to the prevailing party in a lawsuit. Here, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client had the law and facts on her side, so the board’s defiance became their undoing. Ultimately, the fees were not all covered by insurance and the board was forced to pay a substantial sum out of its own pocket.
In the end, not only did the board have to replace the floor above Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client’s unit, they had to pay nearly all of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client’s legal fees in the action. Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client was able to increase her home’s value, live peacefully, and achieve a litigation win affordably.
Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. attorneys Dov Treiman handled the paperwork and an associate handled the court appearances, with both sharing the negotiations and strategy.