Landlord Lost Right to Appeal

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant signed a court-ordered settlement agreement, agreeing to pay back rent in installments. Tenant then started making payments in amounts less than what was agreed upon. Landlord rejected these payments, and tenant asked the court to intervene. The court gave tenant more time to get money from DSS to pay some of the back rent owed and increased the total amount due from what had been agreed upon in the settlement agreement. DSS paid the outstanding back rent. Landlord appealed and lost. By accepting the benefit of the lower court's order, landlord lost the right to appeal. Landlord got a benefit from the court's order because tenant was ordered to pay more than he was supposed to pay under the settlement agreement.

Wren Properties of Nassau, Inc. v. Taveras: NYLJ, p. 32, col. 3 (10/4/99) (App. T.2 Dept.; Kassoff, PJ, Aronin, Scholnick, JJ)