7A Administrator Can't Get Rent Held in Escrow in Abandoned Case

Landlord sued to evict tenant in 2007 for nonpayment of rent. There were so many HPD violations at the building that the court marked the case off calendar and ordered landlord to immediately begin repairs while tenant placed $4,900 into the court's escrow account. Nothing further happened until more than two years later, when tenant asked the court to dismiss the case as abandoned. Earlier in 2009, a 7A administrator had been appointed for the building. He asked the court to release the rent held in escrow to him.
The court ruled for tenant and against the 7A administrator. Landlord clearly had abandoned the nonpayment case, so tenant was entitled to a return of the money held in escrow. The 7A administrator wasn't a party to the nonpayment proceeding and hadn't asked to intervene in the case, so he had no standing to join in. In addition, the rent money was placed in escrow long before the administrator's appointment, and there was no ruling in the abandoned proceeding that this rent was actually due.

Britton v. Martinez: NYLJ, 12/16/09, p. 27, col. 1 (Civ. Ct. Kings; Finkelstein, J)