Landlord Claims Tenants Misrepresented Rent Stabilization Status
LVT Number: #30332
New landlord sued two building tenants, claiming fraud and tort based on claimed misrepesentations by tenants, before landlord purchased the building, that they were rent stabilized. The court dismissed the complaint.
Landlord appealed and lost. A claim for fraud required showings of: (a) a material misrepresentation of a fact; (b) knowledge of its falsity; (c) an intent to induce reliance; (d) justifiable reliance on the falsehood by the plaintiff; and (e) damages. But here, any claimed reliance by landlord on representations by tenants with respect to the rent-regulated status of their apartments was unreasonable as a matter of law. To prove tort, the landlord must prove: (a) intentional infliction of harm; (b) resulting in special damages; (c) without excuse of justification; (d) by an act or series of acts that are otherwise legal. There was no tort in this case, where landlord argued merely that tenants executed backdated leases that didn't misrepresent either the rent-regulated status or monthly rent applicable to the apartments.
Garendean Realty Owner, LLC v. Lang: Index No. 2018-03537, 2019 NY Slip Op 06381 (App. Div. 2 Dept.; 8/28/19; Mastro, JP, Dillon, Maltese, Nelson, JJ)