The following excerpts are from articles
involving A&O attorneys and
clients that have appeared in local and national publications:
Court of Appeals, The
Year in Review by David D.
Siegel, New York Law Journal, September 12, 2005, pp. S2-14. The Diamond case
will likely be cited frequently in future cases called on to test whether
the transaction involved is in interstate commerce, which answers
in turn whether the parties must look to the federal or the state act.
New York's
Highest Court Resolves Two Issues in Favor of Arbitration,
ADR Institute, April 4, 2005. The Court of Appeals
of New York recently resolved two issues squarely in favor
of the arbitrability of disputes... In Diamond
Waterproofing Systems, Inc. v. 55 Liberty Owners Corp.,
Diamond reconstructed the façade
of the building owned by [A&O client] Liberty. After the September
11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks, an inspection revealed cracks
in the façade and Liberty demanded to arbitrate breach of
contract and negligent claims. Diamond argued the claims were barred
by a six-year statute of limitations... Reasoning that "numerous
out-of-state entities were involved with the transaction,"...
The Court held that this level of out-of-state involvement triggered
application of the FAA...
The agreement at issue here required "any controversy or
Claim arising out of or related to the Contract" to
be arbitrated and... As a result, the Court held that the parties "did
not express an intent" to have New York law govern the enforcement of
their agreement and sent the timeliness issue to arbitration.
Board Issues:
Rebirth at Seward Park by
Tom Soter,
Habitat, July/August 2004, pp. 55-57. In
April of this year, the 1,728-unit cooperative won a
$12 million judgment against
its insurer...This
was a big win, a long time coming…[Steven]
Anderson, for one, is impressed by the board’s commitment. "Board
members have put hundreds and hundreds of hours in, between the rebuilding
of the garage and the monitoring of the litigation, getting involved
with me, testifying at trial. There can’t be many co-ops in
this city who have had such matters involving such an amount of money
of such importance
to shareholders over such an extended period of time. It’s
been a colossal task.”
Garage
Roof Collapsed, Insurer Refused to Fund Reconstruction by
Amy Bourne, Verdict Search New York, June 28, 2004. p. 11. In
January 1999, winter storms
and precipitation caused a buildup of snow and water
on the roof of a 90,000-square-foot underground parking
garage located on the premises
owned by plaintiff Seward
Park Housing Corp., a 1,700-unit residential cooperative
in New York…:The
jury rendered a plaintiff’s verdict. It awarded Seward Park
$12 million….Trial
Length: 9 weeks Jury Deliberations: 2 days.
DJ
JP Morgan Appeals Dismissed Suit in US vs Mexico’s
AHMSA by
Sonja Ryst, Dow Jones News, March 19, 2004. J.P.
Morgan Chase Bank is appealing a New York judge’s recent dismissal
of its claim to around $4 million in a U.S. account designated
for debt payments by steel maker Altos Hornos
de Mexico SA….Mitchel H. Ochs, an attorney representing
AHMSA in the case, said that a victory by J.P. Morgan wouldn’t
open up the way for more such lawsuits.
Board
Battles: The Day the Roof Fell In by Tom Soter,
Habitat, October 2001, p. 5. At
the annual meeting in June, the board’s
attorney declared that the proxies West had collected were
illegal….West ‘s
group hired Steve Anderson...to sue the board over the
proxy issue. West’s
side won.
Bright
Side in a Co-op Sponsor’s Default by Diana Shaman, The New York Times National, About Real Estate
Column, January 13, 1995, p. 14. “It’s
a blueprint of what co-ops can do,” Mr. Anderson,
the co-op’s
lawyer, said. “The moral to other
co-op boards out there is that if you
have an aggressive, hardworking
board and the right team of professionals,
you can take control of your own destiny.”