Simar Holding Corp., Plaintiff, v GSC, et al., Defendants/Third-Party Plaintiffs-Respondents. Brooklyn Heights Management, Inc., et al., Third-Party Defendants-Appellants. (Index No. 2645/04), 87 A.D.3d 688

Summary

The owner sought to rescind the earlier contract on the ground of unconscionability. The appellate court found, however, that the owner failed to show that, at the time of the signing of the contract, its principal suffered from psychiatric disorders such that first buyer's position as a real estate entrepreneur created an imbalance in the understanding and acumen of the parties. Moreover, a hearing was necessary to determine whether the procedures employed in soliciting the sale of the property, along with the owner's principal's lack of legal representation throughout the negotiating process, served to deprive her of a "meaningful choice" in entering into the contract. Further, the owner failed to prove the purchase price for the property, since the documents submitted did not establish the amount owed on the tax lien. Moreover, as there was a dispute as to the appraised value of the property, a hearing was necessary to determine if the price was unconscionably low. The trial court ...