Opinion
11925 Index No. 152535/2018 Case No. 2019-3774
10-01-2020
Sandra JARMUTH, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Lauren LEONARD, et al., Defendants–Respondents.
Belkin, Burden, Goldman, LLP, New York (Matthew Meisel of counsel), for appellant. Cozen O'Connor, New York (Amanda L. Nelson of counsel), for respondents.
Belkin, Burden, Goldman, LLP, New York (Matthew Meisel of counsel), for appellant.
Cozen O'Connor, New York (Amanda L. Nelson of counsel), for respondents.
Kapnick, J.P., Gesmer, Gonza´lez,Scarpulla, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Kelly O'Neill Levy, J.), entered April 5, 2019, deemed appeal from judgment, same court and Justice, entered April 24, 2019 (see CPLR 5501[c] ), dismissing the complaint, and, so considered, the judgment unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The complaint fails to allege that defendants, the individual members of the cooperative's board of directors, "acted tortiously other than in their capacity as board members," and, as a result, fails to state a cognizable claim against them ( Brasseur v. Speranza, 21 A.D.3d 297, 298, 800 N.Y.S.2d 669 [1st Dept. 2005] ; Hersh v. One Fifth Ave. Apt. Corp., 163 A.D.3d 500, 83 N.Y.S.3d 4 [1st Dept. 2018] ). In addition, the proprietary lease establishes that, absent illegal conduct, which is not alleged in the complaint, the board had the right to deny plaintiff's application to purchase shares "for any reason or for no reason" (see CPLR 3211[a][1] ; see also e.g. DeSoignies v. Cornasesk House Tenants' Corp., 21 A.D.3d 715, 718, 800 N.Y.S.2d 679 [1st Dept. 2005] ; Simpson v. Berkley Owner's Corp., 213 A.D.2d 207, 623 N.Y.S.2d 583 [1st Dept. 1995] ).