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BUILDING RESIDENTS CAN BRING CLASS ACTION AGAINST OWNERS-MANAGERS ALLEGING NEGLIGENCE IN PREPARATION FOR SUPERSTORM SANDY.

The First Department determined the residents of a building met the requirements for a class action suit alleging negligent failure to secure the building prior to Superstorm Sandy:

The court properly concluded that plaintiffs satisfied the criteria of CPLR 901, and the factors enumerated in CPLR 902 support class certification.

It is undisputed that the building has more than 400 residential apartments above 15 floors of commercial space. Thus, the numerosity requirement is met and joinder of all class members is impracticable … .

The commonality requirement is also satisfied in that the proof at trial will consist of evidence of defendants’ efforts to prevent damage in advance of the storm and to repair damage after the storm. Since the class consists of tenants of the building, common questions predominate over individual questions concerning the amount and type of damages sustained by each class member … . Any differences in proof with respect to the applicability of the warranty of habitability in Real Property Law § 235-b as between residential tenants and commercial tenants is insufficient to overcome the significant common questions, and the court may, in its discretion, establish subclasses … .

The claims of the putative class representatives are typical of the class’s claims since each resides or leases space in the building and their injuries, if any, derive from the same course of conduct by defendants … . Moreover, the record reflects that they are sufficiently informed about the facts, have no conflicts of interest with the class they seek to represent, and are able to act as a check on counsel … . Roberts v Ocean Prime, LLC, 2017 NY Slip Op 01974, 1st Dept 3-16-17

 

CIVIL PROCEDURE (BUILDING RESIDENTS COULD BRING CLASS ACTION AGAINST OWNERS-MANAGERS ALLEGING NEGLIGENCE IN PREPARATION FOR SUPERSTORM SANDY)/CLASS ACTIONS (BUILDING RESIDENTS COULD BRING CLASS ACTION AGAINST OWNERS-MANAGERS ALLEGING NEGLIGENCE IN PREPARATION FOR SUPERSTORM SANDY)/LANDLORD-TENANT (BUILDING RESIDENTS COULD BRING CLASS ACTION AGAINST OWNERS-MANAGERS ALLEGING NEGLIGENCE IN PREPARATION FOR SUPERSTORM SANDY)/SUPERSTORM SANDY (BUILDING RESIDENTS COULD BRING CLASS ACTION AGAINST OWNERS-MANAGERS ALLEGING NEGLIGENCE IN PREPARATION FOR SUPERSTORM SANDY)

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