A unanimous Appellate Division, First Department, panel on Tuesday ruled that the landlord for Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital could not collect nearly $380,000 in operating expenses from the hospital because of the landlord's "epic 12-year delay" in sending a bill. Justice David Friedman (See Profile) wrote the opinion in Mount Sinai Hospital v. 1998 Alexander Karten Annuity Trust, 652035/11, which affirmed a decision last year by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Eileen Bransten (NYLJ, Feb. 2, 2012). Justices David Saxe (See Profile), Karla Moskowitz (See Profile) and Leland DeGrasse (See Profile) joined the opinion.
The hospital has leased a portion of a property on East 94th Street from The 1998 Alexander Karten Annuity Trust since 1997. In addition to rent, the hospital is responsible for about 19 percent of the property's operating expenses. The lease states that the trust must bill the hospital those expenses each year "as soon as reasonably practicable." It also says a billing delay of less than two years will not be grounds for nonpayment.
