Attorney Signed Notice to Quit

Landlord sued to evict tenant. Tenant claimed that landlord's notice to quit was defective. The notice was signed by landlord's attorney instead of landlord. Landlord claimed that in a post-foreclosure eviction case, a notice to quit signed by landlord's attorney wasn't defective when signed by the same attorney who represented it in the foreclosure case. The court ruled for tenant. A notice of termination signed by an agent or attorney who is not named in the lease as authorized to act for landlord and which isn't authenticated or accompanied by proof of the attorney's authority to bind landlord in giving such notice is legally insufficient to terminate the tenancy.

Washington Mutual Home Loans, Inc. v. Calderon: NYLJ, 9/25/02, p. 23, col. 2 (Civ. Ct. Queens; Katz, J)