Fees Denied to Landlord and Tenant in Subletting Case

Tenant sued landlord for attorney's fees after HPD dismissed landlord's application for a certificate of eviction based on illegal subletting and denied landlord's request for attorney's fees. HPD had found that tenant's subletting didn't constitute ''real profiteering'' and so could be corrected. The court and appeals court ruled against tenant. Landlord wasn't entitled to attorney's fees because it hadn't gotten the HPD to award a certificate of eviction. Tenant also wasn't entitled to attorney's fees. Although landlord had lost its case before HPD, landlord showed that tenant had substantially violated both her lease and the HPD Rules and Regulations by unlawfully subletting her apartment on four separate occasions.

Giddings v. Waterside Redevelopment Co.: NYLJ, p. 26, col. 1 (6/30/98) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Parness, PJ, McCooe, Freedman, JJ)