Landlord Agreed to Give Tenants Rent-Stabilized Benefits

(Decision submitted by David Hershey-Webb, of the Manhattan law firm of Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph, attorneys for the tenants.) New landlord sued to evict tenants when their renewal lease expired. Landlord claimed that tenants were unregulated. Tenants claimed that prior landlord agreed to give them the same benefits as rent-stabilized tenants. The court ruled against tenants. Tenants appealed and won. Landlord then appealed, claiming that he wasn't bound by prior landlord's agreement. He also argued that the agreement violated the Rent Stabilization Law. The second appeals court ruled against landlord. Prior landlord had sued to evict tenants. Prior landlord and tenants had signed a settlement agreement in court, whereby prior landlord agreed to give tenants the same rights as those given to tenants protected by the Rent Stabilization Law. New landlord stepped into the shoes of prior landlord and was bound by the agreement. In addition, the agreement didn't evade or present any conflict with the Rent Stabilization Law.

Carrano v. Castro: 2007 WL 3208781, ___ N.Y.S.2d ___ (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Florio, JP, Fisher, Carni, McCarthy, JJ)