HSTPA Choice of Forum Provision Doesn't Bar Court from Transferring Case to DHCR

Rent-stabilized tenant sued landlord for rent overcharge. The court ruled in June 2019 that the DHCR was in a better position to determine and calculate the amount of overcharge damage and that the case should therefore be transferred to the DHCR under the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. Tenant later made a motion to renew and asked the court to reconsider its decision. Tenant pointed out that the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (HSTPA) provides that tenants have a choice of forum in rent overcharge actions and that such matters can't be transferred by the court to the DHCR when tenant initiates the case in court.

The court ruled against tenant. HSTPA didn't overrule longstanding precedent regarding the courts' discretion to invoke the doctrine of primary jurisdiction to transfer rent overcharge actions to the DHCR. Tenants have always had the choice of forum and, therefore, the language of HSTPA stating that the courts and the DHCR "shall have concurrent jurisdiction subject to the tenant's choice of forum" can't be reasonably interpreted as the legislature's intent to inhibit the court's discretion to transfer highly technical rent overcharge cases to the DHCR. The court found nothing in the HSTPA's legislative materials showing an intent to overrule the doctrine of primary jurisdiction. "Given the agency's expertise, the review of these matters by DHCR would be more expeditious than a review by the courts."

Dodos v. 244-246 E. 7th St. Invs., LLC: 2019 NY Slip Op 33475(U)(Sup. Ct. NY; 11/22/19; Freed, J)