Appeals Court Awards Attorney Fees to Tenant's Lawyers Based on Dismissal of Landlord's Claim

Landlord sued attorneys who represented a tenant in its building that landlord had recently acquired. Landlord claimed that the attorneys made statements to media concerning landlord's alleged harassment of the building's sole remaining tenant in order to get him to vacate his apartment so that landlord could develop the building into a luxury condominium. The court dismissed the complaint but denied attorneys' request for costs, attorneys' fees, and punitive damages. The attorneys appealed and won in part. The appeals court found that the action was "without a substantial basis in fact and law" and that, under Civil Rights Law Section 70-a(1)(a) and (c), the attorneys were entitled to costs and attorneys' fees. But the attorneys weren't entitled to punitive damages because the record didn't show that the landlord commenced the action solely with malicious intent.

215 W. 84th St. Owner LLC v. Bailey: Index No. 153752/22, App. No. 450, Case No. 2022-04072 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 6/13/23; Oing, JP, Singh, Moulton, Scarpulla, Shulman, JJ)