Commercial Real Estate Dispute Lawyers in NYC
Eviction defense. Yellowstone injunctions. Lease termination disputes.
BROOKLYN · QUEENS · MANHATTAN · STATEN ISLAND
Commercial real estate disputes rarely arrive at a convenient moment. A New York commercial lease that read straightforward at signing contains provisions you didn't weigh the way the landlord did. For a tenant facing eviction, the location itself is the business: foot traffic, build-out, and customer habit tied to one address. Property owners stuck with a holdover tenant face the inverse, with below-market rent draining cash through months of court.
We've represented landlords, tenants, buyers, sellers, and brokers throughout Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island in disputes ranging from single-location retail leases to multi-property portfolio transactions. Disputes escalate when one party stretches a contract clause past what the other side ever agreed to, or when informal understandings collide with what the lease itself permits. The side with the cleaner paper trail walks out with the property or the money.
New York courts enforce commercial real estate agreements strictly. Unlike residential tenancies, commercial parties are presumed sophisticated and capable of protecting themselves. Courts won't rewrite deals to rescue parties from bad bargains, and they expect compliance with procedural requirements and with the tight deadlines that govern lease defaults and cures. The same enforcement applies to brokerage commission disputes, where procuring cause determinations and tail provisions in listing agreements generate substantial litigation.
Six Disputes That Drive Commercial Real Estate Litigation
Nonpayment Proceedings
A commercial nonpayment proceeding begins with a 14-day rent demand under New York landlord-tenant law, then moves to Civil Court. Corporate tenants must appear through counsel from day one. Strong defenses rest on improper service or disputed arrears.
Holdover Proceedings
A commercial holdover proceeding arises when a tenant stays past lease expiration or after a termination for cause. Landlords sue for possession plus holdover penalty rent, often 1.5x to 3x base rent, for every month the tenant stays in the space. No cure period, no second bite at the lease.
Yellowstone Injunctions
A Yellowstone injunction only works if you file in time. This emergency remedy pauses your cure period while a judge decides whether the landlord's default claim holds up, but the petition must be filed in Supreme Court before the notice deadline runs. After that, no court can revive it.
Good Guy Guaranty
A good guy guaranty caps the business owner's personal liability at rent owed through the day they vacate. Done right, exposure ends at the surrender date. Done wrong, with late notice, fixtures left behind, or unpaid CAM at exit, the guarantor inherits the full remaining lease balance.
Purchase Contract Disputes
A commercial purchase contract dispute turns on time-of-the-essence clauses and deposit forfeiture. Buyers who fail to close can forfeit deposits in the hundreds of thousands. Sellers who refuse to convey face specific performance and may be ordered to deliver the deed.
Lease Interpretation
Ambiguous lease language is where commercial deals break down. CAM charges, percentage-rent formulas, renewal windows, assignment consent. Each clause turns into litigation when the wording can be read two ways, and the loser absorbs years of recalculated charges.
Good Guy Guaranty Disputes in NYC
A good guy guaranty is a limited personal guaranty written into most New York commercial leases. The clause caps a business owner's individual liability at rent owed through the day the tenant vacates, not the full balance of the lease term. The protection is real but conditional. Every requirement has to be performed exactly as the document spells out, or the limited cap evaporates and full lease liability returns to the guarantor.
How a Good Guy Guaranty Limits Personal Exposure
Under a standard personal guaranty, the principal stays personally liable for every dollar of rent owed for the entire lease term, even if the business closes years before expiration. A good guy guaranty narrows that exposure to rent owed up to the surrender date. If the business fails in year two of a ten-year lease, the guarantor walks away owing rent through the vacate date and nothing for the remaining eight years.
Where Good Guy Disputes Arise
Most good guy guaranty fights happen at exit, not at signing. Landlords contest whether the tenant gave proper written notice on the timing the lease required, whether broom-clean condition was met when fixtures and trade equipment got left behind, and whether unpaid CAM or late fees survived surrender. Some disputes turn on something as small as a single missing access card. Any one issue can forfeit the guaranty cap and reopen full lease liability.
Good Guy Guaranty vs. Full Personal Guaranty
The two structures look similar but operate differently. A full personal guaranty makes the principal liable for every dollar of rent through the original lease end date, with no early exit available. A good guy guaranty caps that liability at rent through the surrender date, and only when the surrender procedures were followed exactly. Negotiating the difference at lease signing is the single decision that most affects a business owner's downside risk.
Negotiating Good Guy Terms Before Signing
Most landlord lease drafts start with a full personal guaranty and require the tenant's counsel to push back for the good guy structure. Once the landlord accepts the concept, the negotiation moves to specifics: the notice period (60 days vs. 90 vs. 180), how broom-clean gets defined, whether CAM reconciliation arrears can void the cap, and whether the landlord must formally acknowledge the surrender or whether vacating with proper notice is enough on its own.
Commercial Real Estate Lawyers Serving NYC
- Brooklyn
- Queens
- Manhattan
- Staten Island
Representing Both Sides
Commercial Real Estate Disputes for Landlords
What We Handle on the Owner Side
- Rent Collection & Nonpayment
- Commercial Eviction Proceedings
- Lease Enforcement & Default
- Holdover Tenant Removal
- Guaranty Enforcement
- Property Management Disputes
Commercial landlords across Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island face a different set of problems than their tenants. A tenant who has stopped paying rent doesn't need to be out-lawyered; they need to be moved out on a predictable timeline without procedural errors that reset the clock. That requires counsel who understands both sides of the dispute and can anticipate the defenses a competent tenant's attorney will raise.
Our practice represents owners, sponsors, and property managers in lease enforcement, rent collection after judgment, and the eviction proceedings that follow. Representing both landlords and tenants in commercial real estate disputes isn't a conflict. It's a depth advantage. A firm that has defended Yellowstone petitions knows exactly how to draft notices that survive them.
Recovery rarely ends at possession. Most landlord matters carry collateral fights over personal guaranties, security deposit shortfalls, and unpaid CAM reconciliations that survive the eviction itself. We pursue these through commercial collection actions and post-judgment enforcement, treating possession and recovery as one continuous matter rather than two disconnected proceedings handled by different lawyers.
Broker Commission Disputes in New York
Brokers are routinely cut out of deals they originated. When the commission agreement is vague, procuring cause decides who gets paid.
Frozen Out of the Sale
A broker introduces a buyer to a commercial property, walks them through, negotiates terms, then watches the deal close weeks later with a different broker listed on the contract. New York courts apply procuring-cause analysis to decide whether the introducing broker set the chain in motion that led to the sale. Establishing procuring cause requires documented showings, meaningful negotiation, and a continuous chain of involvement. When those elements exist, the commission is owed regardless of who signed the paperwork. These cases turn on early evidence preservation and contract language that sophisticated brokers should have reviewed before the engagement letter was signed.
The Tail Period Commission Fight
A listing agreement ends, and a month later the property sells to a buyer the terminated broker had shown during the listing period. Most commercial brokerage agreements include a tail provision protecting the broker's commission for deals that close with buyers introduced during the engagement. Tail provisions run anywhere from 30 days to a full year depending on the contract. Enforcing one requires proving the buyer list was delivered on time and that the disputed buyer appears on it. Principals frequently contest these provisions by arguing the introduction was stale or that the buyer reached out independently. The outcome often turns on contract interpretation and records most brokers didn't know to keep at the time.
Talk to a Commercial Real Estate Attorney
Whether you're a landlord, tenant, broker, or property owner, the right strategy depends on facts that change by the day. Schedule a consultation to review your options.
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