Court Applies Six-Year Statute of Limitations to Overcharge Counterclaim in Pending Case

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant after tenant refused to renew his lease. Tenant claimed rent overcharge. After trial in 2019, the court gave the parties six weeks to submit written post-trial memos. Tenant then asked the court to delay making a decision and to accept a 2016 DHCR decision that denied MCI rent increases at the building. The court denied tenant's request because the case had started in 2017, tenant had more than enough time to obtain the DHCR order in question, and landlord never claimed any of tenant's rent increases were based on an MCI. But the court did apply the six-year statute of limitations under CPLR Section 213-a  to the overcharge claim since the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) was enacted on June 14, 2019, and applied the expanded look-back period to pending cases. The court found that the renewal lease that tenant refused to sign stated an improper rent and that there was an overcharge resulting from a 300 percent rent increase registered in 2002. The court found that there was a wilful rent overcharge for 23 months and awarded tenant $56,537, including triple damages. 

CRP 88 E. 111th St. LLC v. Guamarrigra: 2019 NY Slip Op 29347, Index No. L&T 61871/2017 (Civ. Ct. NY; 11/18/19; Stoller, J)