Appeals Court Improperly Reversed Trial Court's Ruling

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. The court ruled for landlord after trial. Tenant appealed and lost, then appealed again and the court's decision was reversed. Landlord then appealed to New York's highest court and won. The Appellate Term had ruled that a fair interpretation of the evidence supported the trial court's ruling. Later, in a 3-2 decision, the Appellate Division reversed and dismissed the case. But because the Appellate Division was the second appeals court in this case, the decision of the trial court should not have been disturbed unless it was obvious that the trial court's conclusions couldn't be reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence. This was especially so since the court ruled in large part based on witness credibility. The Appellate Division didn't apply this standard of review to the case. Instead, it substituted its own view of the evidence. The case was sent back to the Appellate Division [Term?] to make a proper ruling.

409-411 Sixth Street, LLC v. Mogi: 2013 NY Slip Op 06604, 2013 WL 5566290 (Ct. App., 10/10/13; Lippman, CJ, Graffeo, Read, Smith, Pigott, Rivera, Abdus-Salaam, JJ)