Husband Can Seek Eviction of Ex-Wife as Licensee

Husband and wife had two children and shared a house before getting divorced. The divorce decree gave wife three months to move out of the former marital residence. Wife was unable to find suitable housing, so husband orally agreed that she could remain there for a while. Later, husband gave ex-wife a 10-day notice to quit and then started an eviction proceeding against her and the children. The notice and court petition said that the ex-wife was a licensee who no longer had permission to stay at the house. The ex-wife asked the court to dismiss the case. She claimed that she was a tenant, not a licensee. She also argued that, by law, husband couldn't treat his wife as a licensee. The court ruled against the ex-wife. There was no proof that she had any landlord-tenant relationship with the husband. And although spouses couldn't treat each other as licensees, she was no longer married to husband and the divorce judgment had ended her right to remain in the house. She remained there afterward as the husband's licensee, and he could now pursue an eviction proceeding.

Rodriguez v. Greco: 2009 WL 3079219 (9/28/09) (Dist. Ct. Nassau; Fairgrieve, J)