Landlord Gave Sufficient Notice of Proceeding

Landlord bought a building at a foreclosure sale and sent tenant a 10-day notice to quit on Nov. 11, 2009. Landlord then sued to evict tenant, by leaving a notice of petition and petition on tenant’s door on Dec. 14, 2009, followed by mailing another copy on Dec. 15. Affidavits of service were filed with the court on Dec. 17, which completed the delivery. Tenant asked the court to dismiss the case, claiming that landlord didn’t give at least five days’ notice of the court date.

The court ruled against tenant, finding that he misinterpreted the law. Real Property and Proceedings Law Section 733(1) states that an eviction petition must be served between five and 12 days before the selected court date. And General Construction Law Section 20 states that the day of delivery of papers is not included in the day count. Since the Dec. 22 court date was the fifth calendar date after Dec. 17, when service was completed by the court filing, landlord gave five days’ notice.

Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. v. Melton: NYLJ, 4/14/10, p. 29, col. 3 (Dist. Ct. Nassau; Fairgrieve, J)