Tenant's Son Not a Required Party in Nonpayment Proceeding

(Decision submitted by David M. Berger, Esq. of the Brooklyn law firm of Tenenbaum Berger & Shivers LLP, attorneys for the landlord.)

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Landlord claimed that tenant owed $9,575 through May 2013. Tenant’s monthly rent was $695. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case because landlord didn’t name her son, who claimed succession rights, as a party in the nonpayment case. The court ruled against tenant. Tenant signed a two-year renewal lease for the apartment that commenced on Sept. 1, 2011. So tenant was the only necessary party in the nonpayment proceeding commenced during her lease term. Landlord also didn’t have to amend the case caption to change “John Doe” to the son’s name. Tenant also claimed that, in a prior holdover proceeding based on illegal subletting, the court had noted in its decision that tenant had vacated the apartment “three or four years earlier.” But tenant had signed the last renewal lease and there was no proof that she had formally surrendered her tenancy. Any reference in the prior court decision to tenant’s absence from the apartment was irrelevant and not binding on this court in the nonpayment proceeding.

Washington Realty, LLC v. Hayes: Index No. 71985/13 (Civ. Ct. Kings; 4/7/14; Cohen, J)