Page 5 - NY Cooperator October 2020

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — OCTOBER 2020 5 v How many co-ops have you financed? What is your total dollar volume? With how many different lenders? What is the range of the loan size? Since 2011... $180,000 $555 + Million ACME Mortgage 1,895+ $9.16 Billion 30 ? YOUR GUIDE TO INTERVIEWING UNDERLYING MORTGAGE BROKERS Steve Geller | Managing Director 212.612.0222 | sgeller@meridiancapital.com Nicoletta M. Pagnotta | Senior Vice President 212.612.0219 | npagnotta@meridiancapital.com Avi Geller | Vice President 212.612.0249 | ageller@meridiancapital.com Jordan Hill | Associate 646.502.3425 | jhill@meridiancapital.com Nobody closes more underlying co-op loans than Meridian. Shouldn’t you be working with NYC’s Most Active Dealmaker? meridiancapital.com Cooperator_Co-Op Interview_anuary 2020.indd 1 1/21/20 4:12 PM QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Legal Q A& Damages Over Parking Q We live in a co-op where the unit we purchased comes with a parking spot. Our parking garage has valet parking and we leave our keys with the atten- dants. We found that our rearview mirror had scratches on the paint and there was residue of paint from the columns in the garage. Th is led us to believe that the damage was done by one of the attendants in the garage. Is the co-op li- able for these damages since we are leaving the keys for them to move the car? Also, does a sign in the garage indicating they are not re- sponsible for damages release them if they are driving our car? —Who Pays? A “Typically, when a cooperative apartment comes with a park- ing spot, the parking spot is not allocated shares and is not considered part of the apartment,” says attorney Stephen M. Lasser of the New York City and Westchester- based Lasser Law Group. “Th erefore, the park- ing spot is not covered directly by the share- holders’ proprietary lease and will instead be governed by one of two legal arrangements, known as a bailment or a license. If there is no separate written agreement covering the park- ing spot, the arrangement will probably legally be deemed to be a bailment. However, most cooperatives and third-party garage operators who lease and manage garages for coopera- tives require shareholders with parking spots to enter into written license agreements gov- erning the use of the parking spots. “Assuming there is no separate written agreement, a court viewing this issue would determine if the cooperative or garage op- erator retained ‘possession, dominion, and control’ over the shareholders’ car, which are the primary factors that create a bailment rela- tionship. Th e fact that there is a valet who re- tains the shareholders’ keys to the car is strong evidence that a bailment relationship would be deemed to exist if there is no written license agreement. “Under either legal arrangement—bail- ment or a written license agreement—the co-op or garage operator would have a re- sponsibility to safeguard the shareholders’ car from damages such as the ones described here. However, under a bailment, if property is damaged while in possession and control of a party (here the co-op or garage operator), the law presumes that such party was negligent and therefore responsible for damages to the other party’s property in its possession (here the shareholders’ car). Under a license agree- ment, the shareholders would have to prove that the co-op or garage operator was negli- gent, which would not seem to be diffi cult to prove here in light of the paint residue on the columns in the garage. “Th e shareholders should document their dictional limitations of these courts. damages by taking photographs of their dam- aged mirror and the paint residue on the col- umns and obtain a written estimate to repair the co-op or garage operator is not responsible to do so adequately.” the damages. Th is documentation and esti- mate could then be submitted to the co-op co-op or garage operator may still be liable or garage operator for reimbursement. If the because New York has a statute that prohibits co-op or garage operator refuses to reimburse garage operators from exculpating themselves the shareholders, the shareholders could fi le a from liability that arises from negligent acts case in their town or city small claims court, while operating a parking garage. assuming the shareholders’ damages do not exceed the respective $3,000 to $10,000 juris- “Even if there is a sign in the garage or a tion to safeguard the shareholders’ car and provision in a written agreement that claims may be liable for damages to the car if it failed for damages to cars parked in the garage, the “In sum, whether the relationship here is deemed to be a bailment or license, the co-op or garage operator would still have an obliga- n Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues.