Defective Termination Notice Doesn't Void Case

Facts: Landlord sued to evict tenant after sending him a termination notice. The termination notice stated that the unit was the "basement'' store, when, in fact, it was the "ground-floor'' store. Landlord and tenant settled the case in court. The settlement agreement stated that tenant would move out by a certain date and amended the petition to correctly identify the store. Tenant didn't comply with the agreement, was evicted, and then asked the court to restore him to possession. He claimed that the court didn't have the authority to hear the case in the first place because the termination notice was defective. Court: Tenant loses. The defect in the termination notice didn't void the case, but it could be a reason to dismiss the petition. However, in this case, tenant didn't show that he was misled or confused by the mistake in the termination notice, and it had been corrected by agreement when the case was settled.

Kit Ming Corp. v. Tsang: NYLJ, 3/28/01, p. 22, col. 2 (Civ. Ct. NY; Billings, J)