Condo and co-op communities are governed by an array of legal mechanisms, including state and local laws and the community’s own governing documents. Governing documents such as the proprietary lease, condo declaration, bylaws, and house rules cover most issues that arise, but when it comes to handling less-common legal disputes and litigation, condo and co-op attorneys quite often look to decisions made in previous disputes to either support their claims, or to counter the claims of the opposing party.
If a building finds itself embroiled in a dispute, it is likely a similar type of dispute has happened in another building at some point before. Also likely is that there is a relevant lawsuit, whose decision can help your board decide its best course of action. The following are some interesting lawsuits, whose decisions are instructive to co-op and condo boards.
