Opinion
12-15-2015
The BOARD OF MANAGERS OF ONE STRIVERS ROW CONDOMINIUM, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Hafeez GIWA, Defendant–Appellant.
Law Office Of Jesse Hoberman–Kelly, New York (Jesse Hoberman–Kelly of counsel), for appellant. Lasser Law Group, PLLC, New York (Stephen M. Lasser of counsel), for respondent.
Law Office Of Jesse Hoberman–Kelly, New York (Jesse Hoberman–Kelly of counsel), for appellant.
Lasser Law Group, PLLC, New York (Stephen M. Lasser of counsel), for respondent.
FRIEDMAN, J.P., ANDRIAS, GISCHE, KAPNICK, JJ.
Order and judgment (one paper), Supreme Court, New York County (Cynthia S. Kern, J.), entered May 13, 2014, which granted plaintiff's motion to confirm a Special Referee's report on attorneys' fees and late fees and directed that judgment be entered against defendant in the aggregate amount of $42,037.32, unanimously affirmed.
Although defendant paid his outstanding common charges prior to the court's determination of plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, pursuant to the bylaws of the condominium, plaintiff was still entitled to seek late charges and its reasonable attorneys' fees in connection with initiating and prosecuting this case (see Hooper Assoc. v. AGS Computers, 74 N.Y.2d 487, 491, 549 N.Y.S.2d 365, 548 N.E.2d 903 [1989] ; Frisch v. Bellmarc Mgt., 190 A.D.2d 383, 390, 597 N.Y.S.2d 962 [1st Dept.1993] ; see also Matter of Purcell v. Jefferson County Dist. Attorney, 77 A.D.3d 1328, 909 N.Y.S.2d 238 [4th Dept.2010] ). The record demonstrates that defendant had an opportunity to be heard "at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner" on the issues, and his due process rights were not violated (Matter of Kigin v. State of N.Y. Workers' Compensation Bd., 24 N.Y.3d 459, 469, 999 N.Y.S.2d 800, 24 N.E.3d 1064 [2014] [internal quotation marks omitted] ).
Defendant's payment in full of the outstanding common charges, while plaintiff's summary judgment motion was pending, effectively amounted to an admission that he owed the amounts sought. Thus, while plaintiff's summary judgment motion was denied as moot, it was proper for the court to send the matter to the Special Referee for a determination of attorneys' fees and late charges pursuant to the condominium bylaws.
Defendant's challenge to the amount of attorneys' fees and late fees awarded is not properly before this Court, since it was not raised until his reply brief (see Matter of Erdey v. City of New York, 129 A.D.3d 546, 11 N.Y.S.3d 592 [1st Dept.2015] ). In any event, the amount of fees awarded is supported by the record and is not unreasonable.