The condominium committee of an apartment hotel refused to approve a transfer of rights by virtue of its authority under the condominium bylaws, due to the purchaser's behavior and an assessment of his unsuitability to the hotel's rules.
The Court rejected the purchaser's claim and held that the condominium committee acted lawfully according to its authority under the condominium bylaws. The provisions of the condominium bylaws and the first refusal mechanism set forth therein govern only the legal relationship between the unit owners and the condominium committee and do not confer contractual standing or an independent cause of action on a prospective purchaser. The condominium bylaws stipulated that any transfer of rights in an apartment or common property (sale, delivery, or lease) requires prior approval from the committee. In this case, the committee refused to approve the transfer of rights to the prospective purchaser after forming an impression from his behavior and intentions to carry out renovations in the property in a manner inconsistent with the condominium bylaws. The purchaser has no direct or independent standing vis-à-vis the condominium committee and in any event, the committee did not act on the basis of extraneous considerations or bad faith, but rather within its power and based on an objective impression. Accordingly, the claim was rejected.