No Fraud Found in Landlord's Setting of Pre-Base Date Rent

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed rent overcharge and asked the court for permission to conduct pre-trial questioning. The court ruled against tenant and dismissed the case. The base date rent was the legal rent. Tenant claimed fraud by landlord in setting the apartment's rent over the years, but a vacancy rent increase collected prior to the four-year look-back period, which tenant now claimed was unauthorized, didn't show a colorable claim of fraud. Landlord had registered the apartment annually all along, so the information on which tenant's overcharge claim was based was available when he moved into the apartment in 2010. Tenant didn't complain of overcharge until more than four years later.

23rd Street Owner LLC v. Seeber: 55 Misc.3d 145(A), 2017 NY Slip Op 50672(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 5/25/17; Schoenfeld, JP, Shulman, Gonzalez, JJ)