Federal Court Dismisses Former Tenant's Lawsuit Against Landlord

Former rent-stabilized tenant sued landlord in federal court for a second time, claiming wrongful eviction. Tenant had been evicted in 1996 and, in 1998, sued landlord in state court. She claimed that landlord's negligence caused her to develop physical ailments. A jury awarded tenant $175,000, but that decision was revoked on appeal. In 2012, tenant filed her first federal lawsuit against landlord, making the same claims that had been dismissed by the state appeals court in 2010. The federal court dismissed the case, finding that it had no authority to rule on tenant's claim. In 2013, tenant filed this new lawsuit against landlord. The federal court again dismissed the case. First, the federal court had already decided the same issues in the 2012 case. And, again, tenant was making claims that didn't involve federal statutes or the U.S. Constitution. So the federal court had no authority to rule in tenant's case.

Calderon v. Evergreen Owners, Inc.: Index No. 13-CV 6858, 2014 WL 1271158 (EDNY; 3/26/14; Irizarry, DJ)