Bank Subsidiary Has No Standing to Maintain Foreclosure Eviction Case
LVT Number: #22611
New landlord sued to evict tenant shareholder after foreclosure on a co-op apartment and delivery of a notice to quit. Landlord’s notice to quit stated that the apartment had been sold to Emigrant Mortgage. But the court papers stated that Retained Realty was the apartment owner. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that Retained Realty wasn’t the owner and had no standing to maintain the eviction proceeding.
The court ruled for tenant. Landlord claimed that Emigrant Mortgage and Retained Realty were both wholly owned subsidiaries of Emigrant Bank. But they offered no documents to prove this except a sworn statement from an Emigrant Bank executive. And even if both corporations were owned by Emigrant Bank, they still were separate entities. Landlord must show that Retained Realty received a valid assignment of Emigrant Mortgage’s interest in the apartment. Since landlord hadn’t done so, it had no standing to maintain the proceeding.
Retained Realty Inc. v. Williams: NYLJ, 4/16/10, p. 26, col. 3 (Civ. Ct. Bronx; Madhavan, J)