Phillips Nizer Achieves Dismissal for Co-op in Dispute Over Stock Certificate and Survivorship Rights
08/26/2025Phillips Nizer, led by Partner Mark Axinn and Associate Judith Swartz, recently secured a significant victory in New York Supreme Court, Kings County on behalf of its client, a cooperative. The case arose from a familial dispute that should never have entangled the Co-op, yet the plaintiff alleged that the Co-op breached its fiduciary duties and acted negligently in allowing the shareholder-plaintiff to alter her stock certificate to give her son survivorship rights in the property corresponding to the shares. After full briefing and oral argument, the Court granted the Co-op’s motion to dismiss and denied the plaintiff’s motion to compel issuance of a duplicate stock certificate. This result underscores our commitment to protecting co-ops and condos from unnecessary litigation and safeguarding their governance rights, while ensuring that meritless lawsuits do not burden boards or shareholders.