Attorney Sanctioned for Trying to Disqualify Judge from Case

Facts: Prior landlord sued to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent in 2003. After a trial, the court ruled for tenants and awarded them over $31,000. In 2005, tenants asked to amend the caption of the case to add new landlord and asked for attorney's fees. In 2006, new landlord brought a new nonpayment case. The court ruled that tenants should seek permission to amend their answer in the 2006 case to add a counterclaim for attorney's fees from the 2003 case. A different judge then denied tenants' request because their motion didn't include a copy of the lease on which they based their claim for attorney's fees, and because the judge thought that any claim for attorney's fees from the 2003 case should be made in that case, not in the 2006 case. Tenants' new attorney then sued the two housing court judges and asked that one of them be disqualified retroactively from presiding over the nonpayment proceedings. The attorney claimed that the judge coerced tenants into settlement at the other judge's request, after the other judge denied their attorney's fees request.

Court: The court ruled against the attorney. The judge in question had presided over settlement conferences of the nonpayment proceedings only at the request of landlord's attorney. The judge also had withdrawn from presiding over the 2006 nonpayment case. There was no reason under the law or in light of the facts to vacate the settlement stipulation and no violation of the Judiciary Law. Tenants' attorney also was obviously trying to delay the resolution of the 2006 proceeding. The court found that the attorney's conduct was groundless, frivolous, and disrespectful, and sanctioned the attorney in the amount of $1,000.

Kyle v. Lebovits: NYLJ, 11/5/07, p. 19, col. 1 (Sup. Ct. NY; Cahn, J)