Appellate Court Upholds Nonprimary Residence Ruling

January 13, 2014

LVT Number: #25250

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. The trial court ruled for landlord, and the Appellate Term affirmed in response to tenant's appeal. Tenant appealed again. The Appellate Division ruled for tenant, finding that the lower court had ruled incorrectly. Landlord then appealed to New York's highest court, which ruled that the Appellate Division shouldn't have disturbed the lower court's decision unless it was obvious that the court's conclusions could not be reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence.

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. The trial court ruled for landlord, and the Appellate Term affirmed in response to tenant's appeal. Tenant appealed again. The Appellate Division ruled for tenant, finding that the lower court had ruled incorrectly. Landlord then appealed to New York's highest court, which ruled that the Appellate Division shouldn't have disturbed the lower court's decision unless it was obvious that the court's conclusions could not be reached under any fair interpretation of the evidence. The Court of Appeals then sent the case back to the Appellate Division for reconsideration.

The Appellate Division now ruled  for landlord, finding that the evidence supported the trial court's conclusion that tenant actually lived in a house in Vermont from 2004 to 2006 and that she hadn't used her New York apartment as her primary residence during that time. Tenant's attempt to explain away this fact merely raised questions of fact and credibility that were resolved by the trial court.

409-411 Sixth Street LLC v. Mogi: 2013 NY Slip Op 08834, 2013 WL 6850236 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 12/31/13; Mazzarelli, JP, Friedman, Renwick, Freedman, JJ)

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