Landlord Didn't Breach Settlement Concerning Property Held in Fire-Damaged Apartment

(Decision submitted by Adam Leitman Bailey of the Manhattan law firm of Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., attorneys for the landlord.)

Building tenants sued landlord in 2017, after a fire severely damaged the building and rendered it unsafe. Tenants sought access to their personal property, which remained in the apartment. Landlord and tenants signed a confidential settlement agreement in July 2017. They agreed that landlord could terminate their lease and that it couldn't dispose of tenants' personal property until after the building was deemed safe and tenants were allowed access to remove their belongings. Tenants later sought to restore the case to the court calendar and claimed that landlord sought to breach the agreement after landlord sent them a letter in September 2017. The letter updated tenants on upcoming repairs and sought tenants' input concerning items that needed to be relocated or discarded in anticipation of the repairs.

The court ruled against tenants, who appealed and lost. Landlord's action didn't breach the settlement agreement but merely sought a mutual understanding to determine which items in the portion of the unit needing repair weren't salvageable due to fire, smoke, water, or mold damage. 

Varley v. Elk 300 E 83, LLC: 2019 NY Slip Op 07022 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 10/1/19; Richter, JP, Gische, Kapnick, Kern, Moulton, JJ)