Court Dismisses Roommate's Illegal Lockout Claim Against Tenant

Former roommate sued tenant and new apartment occupant, claiming that tenant illegally locked him out of a room he had rented in tenant's apartment. The court noted that the roommate, as a licensee, normally didn't have standing to obtain a judgment in a lockout proceeding. The roommate also couldn't obtain possession of the "premises," which he defined in his court papers as the entire apartment since he didn't have exclusive possession of the entire apartment to begin with. But the record showed that the tenant had rented a room to the roommate and therefore may have conferred exclusive possession of at least that room to him. The state legislature also had imposed stays of eviction under the CEEFPA. But tenant's concerns of living with the roommate in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic were legitimate and the proceeding was dismissed.

Wisdom v. Byfield: Index No. 10083/2021, 2021 NY Slip Op 21163, NYLJ No. 1623926762 (Civ. Ct. Kings; 6/8/21; Stoller, J)