Nelkin v. H.J.R Realty Corp.

25 N.Y.2d 543, 255 N.E.2d 713, 307 N.Y.S.2d 454 (1969)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Nelkin v. H.J.R Realty Corp.

New York Court of Appeals
25 N.Y.2d 543, 255 N.E.2d 713, 307 N.Y.S.2d 454 (1969)

Facts

In 1941 H.J.R. Realty Corporation (H.J.R.) (defendant) was formed by the tenants of 128–138 Mott Street to manage and own the property and building at that address. The shareholders of H.J.R were Chatham Metal Products, Inc. (Chatham), National Machinery Exchanges, Inc. (National), and Henry Nelkin, Inc. (Nelkin) (plaintiff). The shareholder agreement stated the purpose of the business was to make the building profitable and that rental for the space would be charged equally and rent for the other tenants would be decided by of the officers of the corporation. Chatham, National, and Nelkin occupied space in the building and paid less than market-price rent in accordance with the shareholder agreement. This resulted in little to no profit for H.J.R. By 1961 Nelkin no longer occupied space in the building. In 1968 Nelkin and Charles Richter (plaintiff), a former shareholder of Chatham, collectively owned four-ninths of the stock and wanted the other shareholders of Chatham and National, who owned five-ninths of the stock, to (1) pay a fair and reasonable rent, (2) dissolve the business, or (3) buy Richter’s and Nelkin’s shares. At that time, National and Chatham had since occupied more space in the building. National and Chatham refused Richter and Nelkin’s demands, and Richter and Nelkin petitioned for judicial dissolution of the corporation. The trial court granted the petition. However, on appeal to the appellate division, the grant of the petition was reversed, and the case was dismissed. The court found that Richter and Nelkin had failed to state a cause of action for dissolution. Richter and Nelkin argued that National and Chatham were only operating the corporation for National and Chatham’s benefit, and that Richter and Nelkin were receiving no benefit from the corporation. Richter and Nelkin appealed to New York’s highest court, the court of appeals.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Scileppi, J.)

Dissent (Fuld, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership