Did Landlord Wait Too Long to Seek Rent in Eviction Proceeding?

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent, claiming that tenant owed $28,708. Tenant claimed that landlord waited too long to seek payment of rent owed, and that the delay was unreasonable and inexcusable. Tenant sought dismissal of a large portion of the rent arrears claim. The court refused to grant tenant's request. A trial was needed to determine if there was laches--that is, an unreasonable delay that prejudiced tenant. But tenant did show ample need to conduct pretrial questioning with a request for document production. Tenant claimed that the apartment was improperly deregulated and that there was a rent overcharge. But tenant's request to permit questioning of the rent history back to 1997 was overbroad and unwarranted. Tenant could go back to 2011 to demand rent history documents.

Ollie Associates LLC v. Santos: 64 Misc.3d 1208(A), 2019 NY Slip Op 51085(U) (Civ. Ct. NY; 7/1/19; Ibrahim, J)