Four-Year Statute of Limitations Applied to Pre-HSTPA Overcharge Claims

Building tenants sued landlord, claiming rent overcharge damages. In the class action suit, the court ruled that: (a) tenants were entitled only to damages that occurred prior to the filing of their complaint; (b) current tenants were only members of the "subclass" seeking lease reformation; (c) the subclass was entitled only to declaratory relief; (d) certain class members had received rent-stabilized leases; and (e) landlords engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deregulate with respect to three apartments.

Both sides appealed, and the appellate court modified the lower court's ruling to clarify that landlord must provide tenants of all apartments with rent-stabilized leases and riders in the form prescribed by the DHCR, and to deny tenants' motion for summary judgment on their claim that landlord engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deregulate three apartments. The appeals court also found that, under pre-HSTPA law, the proper base date for the overcharge claims was Nov. 29, 2013, four years before the complaint was filed in 2017, and that the court could award overcharge damages that accrued after the action was commenced. 

Woodson v. Convent 1 LLC: Index No. 160547/17, App No. 16925, Case No. 2022-03114, 2023 NY Slip Op 02857 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 5/30/23; Kern, JP, Friedman, Gesmer, Gonzalez, Mendez, JJ)