Law Barring Eviction Delays Is Unconstitutional

Facts: Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Landlord and tenant signed a court-ordered agreement by which tenant agreed to pay back rent in installments. An eviction warrant was issued, but execution of the warrant was delayed until Dec. 20, 1997, to give tenant a chance to make payments. Although tenant made some payments, landlord asked the court to permit execution of the eviction warrant when tenant didn't make an Oct. 20 payment. The court ruled for landlord, and tenant then asked the court to further delay executing the eviction warrant. Landlord argued that the new RPAPL 747-a applied to this case and required immediate execution of the eviction warrant, since tenant didn't pay the total amount owed under the judgment. Court: Landlord loses. The court found that RPAPL 747-a was unconstitutional because it limited access to courts to those who could pay. The new law also couldn't be applied to a judgment entered after a court-ordered agreement between the parties, since tenant had already made payments to substantially reduce the amount owed. Tenant was entitled to a delay of the eviction warrant on the condition that he pay the amount due, not the entire judgment amount, by Oct. 20.

Targee Mgmt., L.L.C. v. Jones: NYLJ, p. 36, col. 1 (11/24/97) (Civ. Ct. Richmond; Straniere, J)