'Somebody Goofed': Condo Buyers Cite Single-Digit Error in Legal Document
Condo buyers at a new building in New York by the Hudson River are citing a single digit error in an offering plan in an effort to rescind their contracts and negotiate a better deal.
The 732-page offering plan for the Rushmore prepared by Stroock & Stroock & Lavan said buyers had the right to back out if their closings did not occur by Sept. 1, 2008, the first day of the annual operating budget, the New York Times reports. The date should have Sept. 1, 2009, after the last day of the budget year. “Somebody goofed,” the story says.
The language was based on a state law requiring an operating budget for the first year of a new condo, the story says. If a closing does not occur in that first year, developers must offer a new budget and a chance to rescind the contract. But the plan cited the first day of the budget year rather than the last.
Real-estate lawyer Richard Cohen has filed papers citing the error with the New York AttorneyGeneral’s office on behalf of 23 buyers that have paid about $10 million in deposits on the condos, the story says. Cohen is asking for return of the money.
One of the Rushmore’s sponsors, the Extell Development Co., claims the date discrepancy was a mere scrivener’s error, and the date should be interpreted to reflect the state requirement, the story says.
Lawyers interviewed by the Times differed on whether the challenge would be successful.
One real estate lawyer, Adam Leitman Bailey, said those who want their money back will have to show they were harmed by relying on the earlier date, or that a reasonable buyer would have relied on the earlier date.
A Stroock real estate lawyer did not return the New York Times’ call for comment. A law firm marketing representative declined an ABA Journal request for comment.
