Here’s hoping you don’t own a condominium in New York. A Manhattan Supreme Court ruling has decreased the real estate value of every condo in the state by holding that individual condominium unit owners can be held personally liable for all or part of the damages awarded to people injured as a result of defects in common areas of a building. Lawyers for Michael Taratura, injured by a fence that fell from a roof of a condo, sued each owner in the 11-unit building individually in the hopes of getting damages above and beyond the $2 million insurance coverage; the court allowed the case to proceed. Justice Heitler’s ruling is being appealed. (Jay Romano, NY Times, Feb. 29).