Court Permits Tenant Claiming Fraud to Subpoena Building-Wide Rent Registration Records

Tenant sued landlord, claiming rent overcharge and a fraudulent scheme to evade the Rent Stabilization Law. After starting the lawsuit, tenant sent the DHCR a subpoena for registration rent roll reports for the building for the years 2006-2022. The court denied landlord's request to quash the subpoena.

Landlord appealed, and in July 2022 the appeals court again ruled against landlord, who had sought a stay of production and restraint against tenant in reviewing or disseminating the DHCR records. Landlord then filed another request in the lower court, seeking modification of the court's prior decision in order to bar tenant and her attorneys from distributing the confidential documents to anyone who wasn't a party or an attorney for a party in this case. Landlord also asked the court to prevent tenant and her attorney from using the confidential documents outside the tenant's stated purpose in this action. Landlord claimed that the court's 2022 decision allowed tenant to circumvent the Rent Stabilization Law and obtain records through the subpoena without regard to confidential information contained therein. 

The court ruled against landlord. RSL Section 26-517(b) was intended to prevent confidential rent information to be obtained by third parties for their own purposes. Here, the appeals court already had decided that the information tenant sought was material to the facts at issue in this case and was relevant to showing a fraudulent scheme. And the appeals court had denied landlord's request for a stay to obtain and disseminate the records. 

Charlton v. 92 Pinehurst Ave. LLC: Index No. 151342-2021, 2023 NY Slip Op 31349(U)(Sup. Ct. NY; 4/25/23; Kotler, J)