Real Estate Law

In a landlord-tenant dispute, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit to enforce the rent formula contained in the lease between the parties, which was based on the existence of a cooperative ground lease. Defendant countersued for reformation of the lease, contending that a mistake in wording caused the rent to be 50 percent higher than was intended and agreed upon by the parties. The trial court granted summary judgment to plaintiff, finding that defendant’s reformation claim was time-barred and precluded by estoppel certificates. The appellate court reversed, finding that the record contained disputed issues of material fact with regard to when defendant knew or should have known of its claim and the meaning of the estoppel certificates, making summary judgment improper. (PUCINSKI and HYMAN, concurring)

Plaintiffs, as individuals and on behalf of similarly situated persons, appealed from a circuit court order dismissing their claims against the defendants homeowners association and board of directors in which they alleged that the defendants’ assessments were unlawful and unconscionable and that defendants breached their fiduciary duty by misappropriating funds. Plaintiffs also appealed from the circuit court’s judgment on the pleadings for defendants on plaintiffs’ claims that defendants’ organizational structure did not comply with law. The appellate court affirmed, finding that the circuit court did not err in dismissed the claims or entering judgment on the pleadings under the facts alleged by the plaintiffs. (ODEN JOHNSON and WILSON, concurring)