Landlord Bound by Prior Settlement Agreement

(Decision submitted by David Hershey-Webb of the Manhattan law firm of Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph, attorneys for the tenants.) Landlord sued to evict tenants, claiming that they were unregulated. Tenants claimed that they were rent stabilized. The court ruled against tenants. Tenants appealed and won. Prior landlord had sued to evict tenants. At that time tenants claimed that they were rent controlled. They had lived in the apartment since 1964. Prior landlord had said they weren't rent controlled because the apartment had been owner-occupied for more than a year before tenants moved in. Prior landlord and tenants had settled that case and had agreed that tenants were deemed rent stabilized, ''entitled to all rights of the Rent Stabilization Law, including renewal leases.'' New landlord claimed that the settlement agreement wasn't binding on him because it wasn't made binding on successors. But new landlord didn't deny that he knew about the prior settlement agreement before he bought the building. And the agreement gave tenants the right to rent-stabilized renewal leases. The right to renewal leases doesn't end when a building is sold.

Carrano v. Castro: NYLJ, 4/12/06, p. 25, col. 6 (App. T 2 Dept. Pesce, PJ, Weston Patterson, Rios, JJ)