Landlord Waited Too Long to Seek Restoration of Case to Court Calendar
LVT Number: #33541
Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent in 2012. In September 2013 the case was marked off the housing court calendar while landlord appealed a January 2013 interim decision of that court. The appeal was decided on Feb. 27, 2014, but no further action was taken in the case until landlord asked the court to restore the case to the calendar in February 2023.
The court ruled against landlord, who appealed and lost. Courts have discretion to grant restoration more than one year after a case is stricken from the calendar if a movant demonstrates: (a) the merits of the case; (b) a lack of prejudice to the other side; (c) a lack of intent to abandon the action; and (d) a reasonable excuse for the delay. In this case, more than nine years after the proceeding was marked off the court's calendar, landlord failed to show a reasonable excuse for its lengthy delay. Landlord claimed that it was waiting for the outcome of a class action matter involving various building tenants and many of the same issues as in this case. But tenant opted out of the class action and, in any event, the class action had been settled two and one half years before landlord sought to restore the nonpayment case against tenant.
Clermont York Assoc. LLC v. Zgodny: Index No. 570482/24, 2024 NY Slip Op 51742(U)(App. T. 1 Dept.; 12/24/24; Tisch, JP, James, Perez, JJ)