Residents Can't Block HVAC Unit Installation

(Decision submitted by Robert Silversmith of the Manhattan law firm of Silversmith & Veraja LLP, who represented the tenants.) Medical groups bought three commercial condo units on the mezzanine terrace level of the building below street level. The entrance to the residential portion of the building was separate from the entrance to the medical offices. The purchase agreement permitted the medical groups to install HVAC units on the mezzanine outside the office entrances. Residential tenants objected to this, and one tenant obstructed the delivery of the HVAC units. The medical groups then sued landlord condo board and sought a preliminary injunction permitting the installation. The court ruled for the medical groups. Landlord claimed that placement of the HVAC units on the mezzanine was a change in the allocation of the common areas and required consent of the residential owners. But the medical groups would suffer irreparable harm if not allowed to install the units in accordance with their purchase agreements. There was no other feasible location for the HVAC units, the contract permits placement on the mezzanine, and there was no zoning restriction that would bar their placement there.

859-60 Medical Management Offices LLC v. Board of Managers of The Forum Condominium: Index No. 21701/2011 (Sup. Ct. Kings; 12/20/11; Saitta, J)