Hotel Units Advertised As Apartments

(Decision submitted by Stuart F. Shaw of the Manhattan law firm of Shaw & Binder, attorneys for the real estate broker.) The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) sued a real estate broker for violating consumer protection law, because the broker advertised landlord's units as rent-stabilized apartments when the building was still registered as a hotel with the DHCR. DCA claimed this was a deceptive trade practice in the rental of consumer services and that the broker was unquestionably responsible. DCA asked the court to limit the broker's right to conduct pretrial questioning, claiming that the only issue was the amount of penalties the broker had to pay. The court ruled against DCA. The appeals court in this case had already ruled that the question for trial was whether the broker knew, or should have known, that the ``apartments'' were actually hotel rooms. So the broker wasn't unquestionably liable and there were other issues to resolve.

23 Realty Assocs. v. Teigman: Index No. 12465/91 (1/7/97) (Sup. Ct. NY; DeGrasse, J) [4-page document]