A New York-based Fox Rothschild real estate litigation team won a $1 million judgment in a commercial lease dispute against the guarantor of a restaurant tenant that had failed to pay rent for over two years.

Joshua Kopelowitz and Bansari Sheth led a team that represented Emmanuel Associates, LLC, which had leased a ground-floor restaurant space in a Manhattan property in July 2020 to 937 Second Ave Corp. The tenants stopped making lease payments in December 2021.

The guarantor of the lease argued that he entered the lease with the understanding that the eatery could use the sidewalk outside the restaurant. However, façade repairs being made under a New York City law requiring buildings to have their exteriors periodically inspected prevented its use.

The court granted summary judgment in favor of Emmanuel, finding that the lease’s definition of the space did not reference the front sidewalk as being included, and was clear about 937 Second’s obligation to pay the monthly rent.

In her decision, Judge Lori. S. Sattler of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, ordered the guarantor of 937 Second Ave to pay the full overdue rent through March 2024, an amount totaling $971,560.58 plus interest.

Fox paralegal Enid Pelaez also assisted.