Court Denies Landlord's Request to Renew Argument Against Civil Contempt Motion

HPD commenced proceedings against landlords seeking an order to correct violations, to find harassment, and to assess civil penalties in connection with the state of two buildings. In July 2024, the court granted HPD's request to issue an arrest warrant against one of the landlords for civil contempt of prior orders to correct violations at the buildings. Landlords then sought to renew their arguments against this penalty, claiming that there were additional facts to consider. Landlord argued that there were duplicate violations. But landlords made this argument in opposition to HPD's motion for an arrest warrant which resulted in the order. To prevail on a motion to renew, a party must offer facts not offered on the prior motion that would change the prior decision. So, the court denied landlords' request. Among other things, landlord claimed that it had made "additional" and "significant" repairs, including corrections of a number of violations that were still outstanding on HPD's violation summary reports. But the prior order already noted landlords' claim to have corrected a number of the disputed violations and found that at least 125 hazardous and immediately hazardous violations remained outstanding. 

HPD v. Belmont Ventures LLC: Index Nos. 306315/2021-306316/2021, 2024 NY Slip Op 33507(U)(Civ. Ct. NY; 9/24/24; Stoller, J)