No Fees to Tenant in Fair Market Rent Appeal Case

Facts:Tenant filed a fair market rent appeal. Tenant relied on rent registration statements and two prior DHCR orders finding rent overcharges for prior tenants in the same apartment. The DRA ruled for tenant. Landlord appealed and won. The prior orders and registrations were issued more than four years before tenant's complaint was filed. Tenant then appealed, claiming that the DHCR's decision was arbitrary and unreasonable. The court ruled for tenant and reinstated the overcharge finding. The DHCR didn't appeal the court's ruling, and tenant then asked the court for attorney's fees. The court ruled for tenant and awarded him $22,000. The DHCR appealed. Court:The DHCR wins. Although the DHCR ultimately lost the case, its argument against tenant's case had been justified. The four-year rule generally barred an overcharge finding based on events occurring more than four years before the complaint was filed. This view, relied on by the DHCR, was supported by other court decisions. So tenant wasn't entitled to attorney's fees from the DHCR under the New York Equal Access to Justice Act.

Crabtree v. DHCR: NYLJ, 6/3/02, p. 18, col. 1 (App. Div.1 Dept.; Williams, PJ, Tom, Rosenberger, Wallach, Marlow, JJ)