Landlord Didn't Properly Identify Apartment in Court Papers
LVT Number: #22095
Landlord sued to evict month-to-month tenant after sending tenant a 30-day termination notice. Tenant claimed that she was subject to Mitchell-Lama rules and asked the court to dismiss the case. In opposing tenant's request, landlord showed documents indicating that the apartment was subject to the Mitchell-Lama law. But the court ruled for landlord and refused to dismiss the case. Tenant appealed and won. Landlord should have stated in its court papers that tenant was subject to Mitchell-Lama regulations and explained why it wasn't required to obtain a certificate of no objection from the DHCR before starting the eviction case. Since landlord failed to do so, and didn't seek permission to amend its court petition, the court should have granted tenant's request to dismiss the case.
Joseph M. d'Assern Housing Corp. v. Day: NYLJ, 7/17/09, p. 38, col. 4 (App. T. 2 Dept.; Rudolph, PJ, Tanenbaum, Scheinkman, JJ)