Tenant Bound by Settlement Agreement Signed by Guardian

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant didn't appear in court. The court ruled for landlord based on tenant's default. DSS later asked the court to vacate the default judgment and appoint a guardian to defend tenant in the case because tenant was unable to understand the proceedings. The court ruled for DSS. Tenant's guardian signed a settlement agreement with landlord by which a judgment for landlord was agreed upon, but execution of an eviction was delayed to permit tenant to pay back rent. Tenant didn't make the rent payments, and the guardian then started a bankruptcy case on tenant's behalf. The bankruptcy court ruled that tenant didn't have to pay the back rent owed. Tenant then asked the court to revoke the agreement because the guardian hadn't completed the formal application process to become a guardian. Tenant also claimed that the judgment for landlord should be revoked because of the bankruptcy court's ruling. The court ruled against tenant. Even though tenant's guardian hadn't completed the formal application process by filing consent documents with the court, this didn't make the settlement agreement void. And the bankruptcy court's ruling only relieved tenant from the obligation to pay the back rent owed. It didn't prevent landlord from recovering possession of the apartment.

Hotel Preservation v. Byrne: NYLJ, p. 30, col. 2 (5/6/98) (Civ. Ct. NY; Elsner, J)