Estate of Co-op Shareholder Tenant Can't Vote on Succession Claim

The estate of deceased shareholder tenant sued landlord co-op corporation, claiming that the co-op improperly barred the estate from voting on a family member’s succession claim to the apartment. The court ruled against the estate, which appealed and lost. The building’s offering plan stated that no vote would be counted from apartments of deceased shareholder tenants that had unresolved succession claims. Specifically, the offering plan said that, “estates will be excluded from the vote” and defined shareholders as “those persons who are shareholders of record of Sponsor as of the Filing Date.” Stock certificates issued to the shareholder tenant weren’t automatically transferred to the estate upon tenant’s death, and no family member of the tenant qualified for succession rights.

Estate of Sherman v. Southbridge Towers, Inc.: 2016 NY Slip Op 08476, 2016 WL 7234808 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 12/15/16; Sweeny, JP, Renwick, Richter, Manzanet-Daniels, Kapnick, JJ)