Tenants Claiming Improper Deregulation in J-51 Building Get Class Action Status

Tenants sued landlord, claiming improper deregulation of apartments in their building while landlord was receiving J-51 tax benefits. They asked the court to grant class action status for current, former, and future tenants whose formerly rent-stabilized apartments were deregulated. The court granted tenants’ request for class certification. Landlord appealed and lost. Even though tenants filed their request 17 days after a stipulated deadline, the trial court deemed tenants’ request timely based on their showing of good cause. Tenants explained that their request was filed late due to their attorney’s involvement in urgent matters in other cases, the impact of the very brief delay was minimal, and landlord couldn’t claim that time was of the essence given its history of both seeking and receiving extensions of time, and the fact that there were no other pending deadlines. 

Gerard v. Clermont York Associates: Index No. 101150/10, NYLJ No. 1202769442453 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 10/6/16; Renwick, JP, Manzanet-Daniels, Feinman, Kapnick, JJ)