Co-op Reasonably Withheld Consent to Shareholder Tenant's Request

Cooperative shareholder tenant sued landlord co-op corporation for breach of contract, claiming that the co-op unreasonably withheld consent to tenant's proposed unit alterations. The court granted the co-op's request to dismiss the case without trial. Tenant appealed and lost. Tenant sought permission to raise the height of the ceiling in a portion of his unit by enclosing unfinished common area space above his unit for his exclusive use so that he could replace an existing window in his unit with a bigger one. Tenant argued that his proprietary lease stated that the co-op couldn't unreasonably withhold consent to proposed alterations "in the unit or building." But the co-op showed that its withholding of consent for the proposed alterations was reasonable. Tenant failed to raise a triable issue of fact, and the case was properly dismissed.

Perrault v. Village Dunes Apt. Corp.: 2018 NY Slip Op 05878, 2018 WL 3999483 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 8/22/18; Chambers, JP, Sgroi, Maltese, Connolly, JJ)