Deceased Shareholder Wills Coop to Longtime Partner Who Sought to Acquire Lease and Shares Under Provision Authorizing Auto Transfer to a Shareholder’s Spouse

If a deceased Shareholder wills his real property, including his coop unit, to his longtime, live-in, romantic partner, can that person  acquire his lease and shares under a lease provision authorizing an automatic transfer to a shareholder’s “spouse?”

Not necessarily, according to a recent New York State Court of Appeals ruling in a case defended by Gallet Dreyer & Berkey, LLP Partner Michelle P. Quinn. In a four-to-two opinion, the Court ruled against the Petitioner’s claim that the coop’s board failed to treat her as a spouse for the purposes of the automatic transfer provision and violated the prohibition against discrimination based on marital status under the New York City Human Rights Law. 

When the Shareholder had previously asked the board to add her as a shareholder and tenant of his unit, the board requested a marriage license, domestic partnership certificate, or other proof that she was the Shareholder’s spouse. But because they were never married nor in a registered domestic partnership, the Petitioner was never added as a shareholder of his unit. She also owned a separate unit in the building.

He died in June 2018, and on February 4, 2020, the board served the Petitioner with a notice to cure and vacate the deceased Shareholder’s unit on the ground that the Shareholder of Record was deceased and the Petitioner was occupying the apartment without the coop’s consent. She was asked to provide evidence demonstrating that she was the Shareholder’s family member and to complete a request for assignment of the deceased Shareholder’s shares. When she could not. The board invited her to apply for a transfer of shares in the same manner as a prospective purchase. She submitted the required application materials, but the board ultimately rejected her application.

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