Loft Tenant Absent for Five Years

(Decision submitted by David B. Tendler of the Manhattan law firm of Cornicello & Tendler, LLP, attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict loft tenant for nonprimary residence. Landlord claimed that tenant had lived in Georgia for five years. Tenant claimed that the loft continued to be his primary residence while he attended college in Atlanta. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant lived in Atlanta, with four different addresses. He registered a car in the state of Georgia, had at least two different full-time jobs in Georgia, stopped attending college, and filed Georgia state tax returns for at least two years. The court didn't believe tenant's testimony that he kept 75 percent of his belongings in the New York apartment. He didn't know where his mother kept her possessions in the loft apartment, and she stayed in tenant's bedroom while subletting her own room.

Canal Ventures, Inc. v. Blake: L&T Index No. 91384/03 (Civ. Ct. NY 8/8/05; Halprin, J) [10-pg. doc.]