Attorney Sanctioned for Lying in Court

Facts: Landlord cooperative corporation sued to evict co-op tenant in 2005 for nonpayment of maintenance. Landlord claimed that tenant withheld payment in violation of a prior settlement agreement signed in court in 1999. Under the agreement, tenant could withhold payment only if he had notified the co-op board of conditions that he believed violated the warranty of habitability, if the board didn't cure the conditions, and if the housing court ruled for tenant in a Housing Part (HP) proceeding. Under the agreement, tenant also received a $10,000 rent abatement. In the new nonpayment proceeding, tenant claimed he didn't know about the prior settlement agreement and wasn't bound by it. Court: Landlord wins. Tenant was a real estate attorney. Another attorney in tenant's law firm had represented him in the 1999 case. Both that attorney and landlord's attorney testified at a hearing that tenant had approved the prior settlement. The court found that tenant had repeatedly lied, and fined him $10,000.

1050 Tenants Corp. v. Lapidus: NYLJ, 10/17/06, p. 27, col. 1 (Civ. Ct. NY: Lebovits, J)