Landlord Misstated Tenant's Rent-Stabilization Status
LVT Number: #24822
Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case during trial, after landlord presented its petition stating that tenant wasn't subject to rent stabilization. The court found that this was a deliberate misrepresentation of tenant's status and a fatal defect. The court dismissed the case.
Landlord appealed, and the case was reopened. Landlord's misstatement in its 2010 nonpayment petition appeared to be the result of uncertainty then existing over the retroactive application of the decision by New York's highest court in Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties, LP. It wasn't a deliberate misstatement of tenant's status, and the error didn't rise to the level of a jurisdictional defect. Landlord could amend its petition to correctly state tenant's rent-stabilization status, and there could be no surprise to tenant, who continuously claimed that the apartment was rent stabilized.
631 Edgecombe LP v. Fajardo: 39 Misc.3d 143(A), 2013 NY Slip Op 50779(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 5/16/13; Lowe III, PJ, Shulman, Hunter Jr., JJ)