Landlord Must Produce Pre-Lookback Period Records

(Decision submitted by Kirsten Zambrano, Esq. of Manhattan Legal Services, attorneys for the tenant.)

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant in turn claimed rent overcharge. Tenant asked the court for permission to conduct pretrial discovery requiring landlord to produce apartment rent history records for the period between 2006 and 2014. Landlord argued in opposition that tenant was limited by a four-year lookback period because she couldn't show justifiable and reasonable reliance on landlord's representations as to the validity of the rent amount listed in the leases.

The court ruled against landlord, finding that, as amended, the Rent Stabilization Code no longer required tenant to show "indicia of fraud" necessary to go past the lookback period. The apartment was rent-controlled at $337.12 at the time of initial DHCR rent registration in 1984. The unit transitioned to rent stabilization in 2007 but no legal rent was registered at that time or at all until 2014. The rent was then registered in 2014 at $2,354.80, just shy of the $2,500 deregulation threshold in effect at that time. Given the totality of the circumstances, the court found a sufficient showing of indicia of fraud, permitting discovery for the limited period sought to tenant. 

The court also rejected landlord's argument against a further lookback period that the apartment was still rent stabilized and therefore there was no fraudulent scheme to deregulate. Citing prior appellate case law, the court held that a fraudulent rent overcharge scheme is treated the same as a fraudulent scheme to deregulate for the purposes of going back beyond the lookback date. The court also denied landlord's request for payment of use and occupancy pendente lite because tenant had a colorable claim of rent overcharge.

SP 1143 Second LLC v. Pinson: Index No. LT-323608-23 (Civ. Ct. NY; 1/21/25; Blinova, J)[5-pg. document]