Developer wins $1 + million lawsuit against Marymount college.Property Markets Group, a developer known for rehabilitating and adding value to distressed property, won a victory in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State Supreme Court over Marymount Manhattan College Marymount Manhattan College is a small, coeducational liberal arts college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Marymount Manhattan's campus is located in the desirable Upper East Side. It's often referred to as MMC. over a breached lease at the Allerton Hotel The Allerton Hotel or Allerton Crowne Plaza is a 25-story 360 foot hotel skyscraper along the Magnificent Mile in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. . The court found that the college, which leased 250 rooms for student housing at the former Allerton Hotel for the 1997/98 school year, breached its lease when it moved out of the building before the lease had expired. Now, Marymount must pay the landlord (an affiliate of the Property Markets Group) more than $1 million in back rent and interest. In addition, the college must reimburse re·im·burse tr.v. re·im·bursed, re·im·burs·ing, re·im·burs·es 1. To repay (money spent); refund. 2. To pay back or compensate (another party) for money spent or losses incurred. the landlord for the attorneys' fees (estimated to be more than $400,000) it incurred in connection with the lawsuit. The court found that the landlord fulfilled its obligations under the lease and rejected Marymount's claim that conditions at the hotel (which at the time was an "SRO See Self-regulatory organization. SRO See self-regulatory organization (SRO). ") constituted a constructive eviction The disturbance, by a landlord, of a tenant's possession of premises that the landlord makes uninhabitable and unsuitable for the purposes for which they were leased, causing the tenant to surrender possession. . Subsequent to Marymount leaving the property, Property Markets Group completed a long-planned renovation of the building, transforming it into a budget transient hotel now known as the Habitat. "This is a major victory, not just in monetary terms, but for a landlord's ability to rely on the courts to uphold lease provisions in fluid circumstances," said Franklin R. Kaiman, the attorney for Property Markets Group. "The court found that Marymount entered into the lease with full knowledge that the hotel needed to be renovated and was in less than perfect condition. However, Marymount failed to let the students and their parents know the type of conditions they would encounter. When the students and parents began to complain, Marymount tried to back out." "We had more than 100 other residents in occupancy at the time, including students from another college and permanent tenants. They honored their agreements. We did everything we could to accommodate Marymount's concerns. But the court found that Marymount felt pressured to leave by the parents and students. The very notion that Marymount would refuse to pay rent and walk away from the lease was completely unacceptable to us. We are gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. that the court found in our favor." Mr. Kaiman cites the award of attorney fees as symbolic of the force of the court's action. "How often in New York do you see a court awarding the landlord its attorneys' fees? This is a very clear signal of the Court's conviction." |
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