Landlord Entitled to Pretrial Questioning

(Decision submitted by Manhattan attorney Santo Golino, who represented the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict tenant for illegal subletting. Subtenant claimed that she was landlord's sister and that she was entitled to pass-on rights. She asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord, in turn, asked the court either to dismiss subtenant's pass-on claim because tenant's lease hadn't expired or to permit pretrial questioning. The court ruled for landlord, granting its request for pretrial questioning. There were questions of fact regarding subtenant's relationship to tenant and whether they cooccupied the apartment.

Inwood Ventura Assocs. LLC v. Vargas: L&T Index No. 66601/01 (Civ. Ct. NY 9/21/01; Jimenez, J) [9-pg. doc.]