Tenant Not Damaged by Landlord’s Entry to Apartment After Leak

Cooperative shareholder hotel tenant sued landlord hotel operator, claiming that, after a water leak, landlord’s employees entered his apartment and took some of his personal property. He also claimed that landlord breached the covenant of quiet enjoyment by entering his apartment. The court denied landlord’s request to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord’s employees didn’t trespass when they entered tenant’s apartment to assess the leak, and there was no proof that they took tenant’s property. In addition, even if landlord breached the covenant of quiet enjoyment, tenant wasn’t entitled to damages because he received compensation from his insurer for additional living expenses while his apartment was uninhabitable, there was no proof that delays in completing repairs were due to any unreasonable conduct by landlord, and tenant chose not to pay rent as his remedy. Tenant also wasn’t entitled to punitive damages since there was no proof that landlord did anything morally reprehensible.

Schwartz v. Hotel Carlyle Owners Corporation: 2015 NY Slip Op 07601, 2015 WL 6134067 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 10/20/15; Mazzarelli, JP, Acosta, Saxe, Manzanet-Daniels, JJ)