Landlord Bought Building at Judicial Sale

(Decision submitted by Peter Schwartz of the Manhattan law firm of Fromme, Fromme & Schwartz.) Facts: Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed that landlord deliberately delayed the nonpayment proceeding to allow an insurmountable amount of back rent to build up. Landlord bought the building in August 1994 at a judicial sale. The building had been run previously by a receiver since November 1992. Landlord served a three-day rent demand in October 1994 and then tried to settle with tenant. Landlord then served another three-day notice and started court proceedings. Tenant showed that during 1992 and 1993 prior landlord never sued tenant for back rent, even though other tenants were sued. Her rent had also been reduced by the DHCR. Court: New landlord reviewed tenant's rent history and commenced nonpayment proceedings within a reasonable period. But landlord could sue for rent owed only back to May 1, 1994, three months before he bought the building. Landlord couldn't sue for rent due from January 1993 through April 1994.

Kalimian v. Kahan: L&T Index No. 55002/95 (4/20/95) (Civ. Ct. NY; Shulman, J) [5-page document]