New Trial Ordered After Former Tenant Gets Full Rent Abatement for Apartment Conditions

September 23, 2016

LVT Number: #27191

Landlord sued former tenant to recover five months’ unpaid rent. Tenant claimed breach of the warranty of habitability and asked for a setoff. Landlord presented documentation that violations were cured, and tenants showed photographs of conditions at the apartment before they moved out. After trial, the court granted tenant an abatement of all rents owed and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed, and the case was reopened. Trial court exhibits weren’t made part of the record on appeal, aside from a few photographs and an invoice showing bedbug extermination.

Landlord sued former tenant to recover five months’ unpaid rent. Tenant claimed breach of the warranty of habitability and asked for a setoff. Landlord presented documentation that violations were cured, and tenants showed photographs of conditions at the apartment before they moved out. After trial, the court granted tenant an abatement of all rents owed and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed, and the case was reopened. Trial court exhibits weren’t made part of the record on appeal, aside from a few photographs and an invoice showing bedbug extermination. So the appeals court couldn’t determine if substantial justice was rendered between the parties. The judgment was revoked, and the matter sent back to the lower court for a new trial.

 

 

 
Elgendy v. Sakr: 52 Misc.3d 143(A), 2016 NY Slip Op 51239(U) (App. T. 2 Dept.; 8/10/16; Pesce, PJ Aliotta, Solomon, JJ)

Topics

More like this