Court Dismisses Tenant's Lawsuit Against Landlord's Attorney

LVT Number: 19257

Tenant sued landlord's attorney for malicious prosecution. The court ruled against tenant. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord had previously sued tenant in housing court, claiming that tenant used his apartment for commercial purposes. That case was dismissed after pretrial questioning revealed that the commercial activity was taking place in a different apartment, which tenant also rented in the building. But landlord and its attorney started the housing court case based on legitimate questions concerning tenant's use of the apartment in question.

Tenant sued landlord's attorney for malicious prosecution. The court ruled against tenant. Tenant appealed and lost. Landlord had previously sued tenant in housing court, claiming that tenant used his apartment for commercial purposes. That case was dismissed after pretrial questioning revealed that the commercial activity was taking place in a different apartment, which tenant also rented in the building. But landlord and its attorney started the housing court case based on legitimate questions concerning tenant's use of the apartment in question. Therefore, there was some basis for the housing court action.

Galland v. Kossoff: NYLJ, 11/16/06, p. 31, col. 1 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Andrias, Saxe, Marlow, Nardelli, JJ)