Landlord Sufficiently Identified Apartment Occupant in Court Papers

Landlord sued to evict apartment occupants, claiming that they were licensees or squatters. One of the occupants asked the court to dismiss the case. He claimed that landlord failed to name a necessary party because the court papers called him “Manuel Lora Davis” when his name actually was “Sully Manuel Lora.” Occupant also claimed that he wasn’t personally served with the court papers. Landlord argued that it had diligently searched for the occupant’s name before describing him in the court papers as it did. The court ruled against occupant. There was a 2/3 to 3/4 overlap in the name used in the court caption and occupant’s name. Landlord also named “John Doe” at the apartment address as a respondent. This adequately covered occupant’s name, which could be amended in the court papers. Also, personal delivery of the court papers wasn’t required. Landlord delivered the papers by conspicuous place service, as permitted by Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Section 735(1).

974 Anderson LLC v. Davis: Index No. 10721/2016, NYLJ No. 1202775507043 (Civ. Ct. Bronx; 12/14/16; Lutwak, J)