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SIGNATURE REALTY, INC., Appellant, v. Tim TALLMAN, Doing Business as Tallman's Tire and Auto Service, Respondent.
OPINION OF THE COURT
The order of the Appellate Division, insofar as appealed from, should be reversed, with costs, and the case remitted to Supreme Court for further proceedings in accordance with this memorandum.
As we recently stated in R/S Assoc. v. New York Job Dev. Auth., 98 N.Y.2d 29, 32, 744 N.Y.S.2d 358, 771 N.E.2d 240 [2002], “when parties set down their agreement in a clear, complete document, their writing should as a rule be enforced according to its terms” (see also Reiss v. Financial Performance Corp., 97 N.Y.2d 195, 198, 738 N.Y.S.2d 658, 764 N.E.2d 958 [2001], quoting W.W.W. Assoc. v. Giancontieri, 77 N.Y.2d 157, 162, 565 N.Y.S.2d 440, 566 N.E.2d 639 [1990] ). Nothing in the parties' agreement limits the commission to the initial lease period. On the contrary, an option to renew a lease for three five-year periods, as provided for in the subject lease, would fall within the broad category of “a lease, rental arrangement or other occupancy,” unambiguously requiring payment of 10% of the rent over the period of occupancy.
Given that plaintiff did not cross-move for summary judgment, this Court is not empowered to grant it summary relief (see Merritt Hill Vineyards v. Windy Hgts. Vineyard, 61 N.Y.2d 106, 110-111, 472 N.Y.S.2d 592, 460 N.E.2d 1077 [1984] ).
Order, insofar as appealed from, reversed, etc.
MEMORANDUM.
Chief Judge KAYE and Judges G.B. SMITH, CIPARICK, ROSENBLATT, GRAFFEO, READ and R.S. SMITH concur in memorandum.
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Decided: June 03, 2004
Court: Court of Appeals of New York.
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FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
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