Tenant's FDCPA Violation Claim Must Be Decided in Federal Court

Tenant sued landlord in federal court. Landlord was a law firm. Tenant claimed that there were high noise levels in his apartment and a lack of carpeting in the building's common areas. Tenant also claimed that landlord, in its capacity as a law firm, violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in its attempts to collect rent from him. Landlord asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that tenant's rent and apartment condition should be decided in housing court. The federal court ruled for landlord in part. The issues concerning apartment conditions belonged in housing court and didn't require federal court intervention. But tenant's FDCPA claim was a federal law claim that could be decided by this court.

Yetnikoff v. Mascardo: NYLJ, 3/14/07, p. 22, col. 3 (S.D.N.Y.; Lynch, J)