Co-op Tenant Can Be Evicted for Objectionable Conduct

Landlord cooperative corporation sued to evict tenant shareholder and her family members based on objectionable conduct. The co-op board had made a decision to terminate tenant's proprietary lease after meeting to review the matter. Tenant chose not to appear at that meeting. The court ruled for landlord after a trial. The co-op board acted within the scope of its authority to legitimately further a corporate purpose in good faith. The behavior of tenant and her family clearly violated the house rules, which outlined the conduct required by all tenants, their families, and guests. Landlord had listed 744 incidents, including dates and times, where tenant, her family, and her guests engaged in objectionable conduct. These included instances of urinating and defecating in the building hallways and elevators, loitering and smoking in the building, conducting illegal drug sales in and around the building, and engaging in sexual activity in the stairwells. Many of these incidents were recorded on building security footage.

1855 7 Ave HDFC v. Wigfall: Index No. 81069/10, NYLJ No. 1202647519406 (Civ. Ct. NY; 2/20/14; Elsner, J)