This year marks the 45th anniversary of the landmark decision of the New York Court of Appeals in First Nat. Stores v. Yellowstone Shopping Center, 21 N.Y.2d 630, 290 N.Y.S.2d 721 (1968). That decision first established the right of a commercial tenant, when served with a notice to cure threatening the termination of its lease, to obtain what has become known as a Yellowstone injunction, which maintains the status quo by tolling the tenant’s time to cure an alleged lease default so that, upon an adverse determination on the merits, the tenant may cure the default and avoid the forfeiture of its leasehold.
To obtain a Yellowstone injunction, the tenant must demonstrate that (1) it holds a commercial lease, (2) it received from the landlord a notice to cure threatening the termination of the lease, (3) it requested injunctive relief prior to the expiration of the cure period in the notice to cure, and (4) it is prepared and maintains the ability to cure the alleged default by any means short of vacating the premises.1
