Court Orders PSA to Join Case

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant, who had no attorney, signed a stipulation agreeing to pay back rent. Tenant later defaulted and sought a number of extensions on the stipulation. Tenant eventually got an attorney who asked the court to appoint a guardian for tenant. Tenant now also asked that PSA be joined as a party to the case for the purpose of evaluating tenant as a potential client. PSA didn't appear in court, and the court joined PSA to the case. The court also ordered PSA to pay money to tenant's guardian. PSA then asked the court to reverse that decision, claiming that the court couldn't order it to take any action. The court ruled that it had the authority to join PSA as a party to the case, but it revoked that portion of the order directing PSA to pay the guardian.

Resolution Trust Corp. v. Martinez: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 2 (1/31/96) (Civ. Ct. NY; Malatzky, J)