Jury Waiver Clause Applies to Primary Residence Case

(Decision submitted by Santo Golino of the Manhattan law firm of Kucker Kraus & Bruh, LLP, attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant asked for a jury trial. Landlord argued that tenant's lease contained a jury waiver clause. Tenant claimed that jury waiver clause wasn't enforceable because the original lease was signed before 1983, when the Omnibus Housing Act transferred jurisdiction over nonprimary residence cases from the rent agency to the courts. The court ruled against tenant. The Omnibus Housing Act didn't create a new basis for eviction which wasn't in existence at the time tenant signed his lease. It merely removed the need for landlord to get a prior administrative order before suing to evict a tenant based on nonprimary residence.

Lemle v. Cerrone: Index No. 119438/96 (9/10/97) (Civ. Ct. NY; James, J) [2-page document]