Warshaw Burstein Litigators Win Appeal on Dismissal of Complaint as Time-Barred and Award of Attorneys' Fees
03/17/2026In July 2025, Warshaw Burstein’s Bruce H. Wiener and Slava Hazin teamed up with Lauren De Lotto of De Lotto PLLC to achieve a major victory for their client. In Southgate Owners Corp. v. Esposito, Index No. 153710/2024 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Co.) (July 24, 2025), Justice Lyle E. Frank granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and for an award of attorneys’ fees, and denied Plaintiff’s cross-motion for summary judgment. In a unanimous decision rendered on March 17, 2026, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed in its entirety the lower court’s decision, including awarding defendant her attorneys’ fees and costs of the appeal.
Defendant, a long-time owner of a duplex cooperative apartment in Sutton Place, had a dispute with her cooperative concerning its belated attempt to allocate additional shares to her apartment as a result of the enclosure of outdoor space in 1996, and charge her for her share of the cooperative operating expenses, retroactively to 1996, despite the fact that the cooperative did not attempt to allocate the additional shares until 2024.
The Appellate Division, in affirming the lower court’s decision, held that the cooperative’s claim was time-barred under the 6-year Statute of Limitations. In addition, because of Defendant’s successful defense of the action, she was entitled to recover her attorneys’ fees of the action and costs on appeal.
Bruce H. Wiener and Slava Hazin are partners in the firm’s Litigation Department.
The Appellate Court’s decision is linked below
