Landlord Can Restore Case After 21-Month Delay

Landlord sued to evict tenant in 2001 for illegal subletting. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. The court ruled for tenant. Landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord and reopened the case in 2005. In January 2006, landlord and tenant, by their attorneys, stipulated to mark the case off the trial court's calendar so that the case file could be retrieved from the court archives. The stipulation didn't set any time limit. Landlord asked the court to restore the case to the calendar in October 2007. The court ruled against landlord. Landlord appealed and won. Landlord offered no valid excuse for its delay in restoring the case, but landlord's claim against tenant arguably had merit. The appeals court had denied tenant's motion to dismiss the case, there was no prejudice to tenant by the delay, and the case had been marked off calendar through no fault of landlord's.

184 West 10th Corp. v. Westcott: NYLJ, 6/4/08, p. 39, col. 1 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McKeon, PJ, Davis, Schoenfeld, JJ)