What is a Yellowstone injunction under New York law?

On Behalf of | Aug 19, 2015 | Commercial Real Estate

For a New York commercial tenant, obtaining and keeping a lease is critical to the success of the business. Losing a commercial lease through forfeiture based on an alleged lease violation can threaten a business’s survival. To make things worse, when a landlord threatens to terminate the lease or serves a notice to cure or notice of default, the tenant may have only a matter of days to resolve the problem before facing eviction.

Fortunately, there is a legal remedy known as a Yellowstone injunction that can buy the tenant some time to seek a court determination as to whether they have in fact breached the lease, and to cure any alleged default. A Yellowstone injunction is a court order that temporarily suspends the time period during which the tenant must cure the default. (The name comes not from the national park, but from an earlier case involving Yellowstone Shopping Center.)

The tenant must request a Yellowstone injunction before the lease terminates and before expiration of the cure period provided in the lease and the landlord’s notice to cure. The tenant must show an ability to cure the default alleged by the landlord, by any means other than moving out.

Many New York business owners have invested a great deal of money and time in their rented space. Whether the property involved is industrial property, a retail business, an office or a shopping mall, a premature termination of the lease could devastate the business. A commercial tenant faced with a threat of termination on short notice can benefit from consulting an experienced real estate attorney about seeking a Yellowstone injunction.

Source: JT Queens Carwash, Inc. v. 88-16 Northern Blvd., LLC (App. Div. Dec. 26, 2012), accessed Aug. 16, 2015

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