Landlord Can Start New Eviction Case for Owner Occupancy

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant in order to recover the apartment for his own use. The court ruled against landlord and dismissed the case. Landlord sent a lease nonrenewal and termination notice to tenant in July 2014. Shortly after tenant’s lease expired on Oct. 31, 2014, landlord commenced an eviction proceeding based on owner occupancy. Landlord and tenant, by their attorneys, signed a stipulation discontinuing the case without prejudice. Landlord then started a new case in November 2014 without sending a new termination notice. The court ruled that landlord can’t re-use the same lease nonrenewal/termination notice to start a new eviction proceeding after the prior case was withdrawn.

Landlord appealed and won. The appeals court found that landlord’s nonrenewal notice wasn’t rendered stale by the the stipulated discontinuance. The prior proceeding was discontinued without prejudice based on a defect in the notice of petition. So tenants could not reasonably have believed that landlord wouldn’t pursue its claim. The new proceeding was commenced within two days and tenants showed no prejudice. 

Culhane v. Patterson: Index No. 2015-578, NYLJ No. 1202769823058 (App. T. 2 Dept.; 10/13/16; Weston, JP, Aliotta, Elliot, JJ)