Default Judgment Against Tenant Vacated

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Landlord claimed he had an oral lease agreement with tenant. Subtenant appeared in court and agreed to put $4,000 into escrow and to pay rent for June and July 2005. Later, on the trial date, subtenant claimed he wasn't tenant on the lease but that he and others paid rent to tenant, who then paid rent to landlord. The court ruled for landlord, without formally hearing testimony or taking any evidence. Subtenant appealed and won. Nothing in the agreement between landlord and subtenant allowed entry of judgment based on a default by tenant. Since tenant denied landlord's claims in his answer, a trial was needed to determine the facts. Since there was no trial, the judgment was revoked and the case was sent back to the lower court.

Khokar v. Nihar: NYLJ, 4/20/07, p. 30, col. 3 (App. T. 2 Dept.; Pesce, PJ, Weston Patterson, Rios, JJ)