Occupant Wasn't Nontraditional Family Member

(Decision submitted by Manhattan attorney Barbara J. Meinwald who represented the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict occupant of apartment after rent-controlled tenant died. Occupant claimed pass-on rights. He said he had a family-type relationship with tenant. The court ruled against occupant. Although he showed that he lived in the apartment since 1993, he didn't prove he had a family-type relationship with tenant. Occupant was a friend of tenant's son, but there was no will, insurance policy, or bank account showing family interdependency with tenant. Occupant had the authority to cash checks for tenant, but his own SSI and worker compensation checks were mailed to his mother's home in Brooklyn and deposited into his own private bank account. Tenant's visiting nurse testified that occupant spent no time or money on tenant, that the refrigerator was often empty, that occupant's bedroom door was always locked and had a separate entrance to the building hallway, and that he basically ignored tenant. In light of all this, tenant didn't show an emotional and financial commitment and connection with tenant sufficient to prove a nontraditional family relationship.

Chaban v. Vargas: Index No. 75722/99 (8/19/99) (Civ. Ct. NY; Klein, J) [3-pg. doc.]