Court Papers Not Signed by Authorized Representative of Deceased Landlord

Landlord sued to evict rent-controlled tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant's nephew claimed he had pass-on rights to the apartment. Tenant's nephew also claimed that landlord's termination notice and petition were defective. The petition named Vartarian, the landlord, as the ''petitioner-owner,'' but he had died before the case was started. An agent of landlord's estate actually signed the termination notice and the petition. He had been landlord's authorized agent for this purpose when landlord was alive. The court ruled for tenant's nephew. There was no proof that landlord's agent was authorized to start the case on behalf of landlord's estate after landlord died. Even if the court permitted landlord's estate to replace landlord as petitioner, the termination notice was invalid because it wasn't signed by a person authorized to sign on behalf of landlord which, at that point, was the estate.

Vartarian v. Brady: NYLJ, p. 27, col. 6 (9/29/99) (Civ. Ct. NY; Billings, J)