Appeals Court Permits Tenants to Sue Landlord for Rent Overcharge in Class Action

Building tenants sued landlord for rent overcharge and asked the court for certification as a class action. The court ruled against tenants, who appealed and won. The appeals court found that the lower court erred in finding that the class was so numerous that joining all members to the lawsuit was "impractible." CPLR Section 901(a)(1) and other court cases make it clear that qualified tenants may "utilize the class action mechanism to recover compensatory rent overcharges" against landlords who decontrolled apartments in violation of the Rent Stabilization Law "while accepting tax benefits under NYC's J-51 tax benefit program." Here, the group seeking class status consisted of former and current tenants who lived in the 16 apartments improperly treated as deregulated after Nov. 15, 2013, while landlord was receiving J-51 tax benefits.

Hoffman v. Fort 709 Assoc., LP: Index No. 160181/17, App. No. 15750, Case No. 2021-01864, 2022 NY Slip Op 02510 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 4/19/22; Gische, JP, Webber, Scarpulla, Rodriguez, Higgitt, JJ)