Landlord Knew About Tenant's Dog for Over Three Months

Facts: Landlord sued to evict tenant for keeping a dog in violation of her lease. Tenant admitted this but claimed that she had the dog for more than three months with landlord's knowledge, and so landlord had given up the right to evict her. Tenant claimed she'd gotten the dog two and a half years ago, that it was a big dog, that she walked the dog twice a day, and that building employees had seen the dog. Two other tenants testified at trial that they visited tenant's apartment during the past two years and had seen the dog on a number of occasions. Landlord's property manager testified that during annual apartment inspections for the past three years, there had been no dog in the apartment in 1997 or 1998, but that she heard the dog in the bedroom in 1999. Court: Tenant wins. Although the court believed that tenant purposely hid the dog during the prior years' apartment inspections, other testimony showed that tenant did have the dog for several years. Tenant's neighbors testified that they had seen her walk the dog outside the building, and landlord didn't call as a witness the building employee whom tenant claimed had also seen the dog on a number of occasions.

Bronx Park South I Assocs. v. Asceneth: NYLJ, p. 23, col. 2 (7/21/99) (Civ. Ct. Bronx; Heymann, J)