Nontraditional Family Member Doesn't Prove He Lived with Tenant Before She Died
LVT Number: #29856
Landlord sued to evict apartment occupant after rent-stabilized tenant died. The occupant claimed succession rights as a nontraditional family member. The court granted landlord's request for pre-trial questioning and ordered occupant to furnish documents and appear for a deposition. Based on noncompliance, the court later struck occupant's answer to the eviction petition. Occupant appealed this decision and lost. Since the court first entered a conditional order due to occupant's delay and failure to comply with discovery orders, the court wasn't required to find that occupant's noncompliance was willful before striking his answer. Occupant also failed to show that he had a medical excuse for failing to appear for the deposition. This also didn't excuse his noncompliance with other portions of the conditional order concerning production of documents. Occupant also failed to present a meritorious succession defense. Landlord produced documents showing that occupant lived elsewhere for several years before tenant died.
New York University v. Nabulsi: Index No. 570746/17, 2018 NY Slip Op 51947(U)(App. T. 1 Dept.; 12/31/18; Ling-Cohan, JP, Gonzalez, Cooper, JJ)