Matter of McCabe v. 511 W. 232nd Owners Corp.

Summary

The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of Maryann McCabe's challenge to a cooperative board's refusal to automatically transfer her deceased partner's proprietary lease and shares. The Court held that the New York City Human Rights Law's prohibition on marital-status discrimination protects a person's legal status as married, single, separated, divorced, or widowed, but does not require treating an unmarried romantic partner as a spouse for purposes of an automatic lease transfer. The Court also upheld the board's separate determination that consent could reasonably be withheld based on McCabe's financial representations.