Settlement Agreement Doesn't Bar Eviction for Educational Use

Landlord, an educational institution, sued to evict tenant. Landlord and tenant signed a settlement agreement in court by which landlord gave tenant an initial rent-stabilized lease. They agreed that tenant was subject to all of the ''rights, benefits, and obligations'' of rent-stabilized tenants. They also agreed that if a court or agency later ruled that the apartment wasn't subject to rent stabilization, landlord could still refuse to renew the lease only for the reasons allowed under the Rent Stabilization Law and Code. A few years later, landlord refused to renew tenant's lease, and sued to evict him because it wanted the apartment for educational use. Tenant claimed that the prior settlement agreement barred eviction. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and lost. The Rent Stabilization Code permits nonrenewal of a tenant's lease for institutional use. And nonrenewal for this reason was permitted by the prior settlement agreement. Both landlord and tenant were represented by attorneys in the prior case, and the agreement had been extensively worked out before signing.

New York University v. Eckstein: NYLJ, 10/5/01, p. 18, col. 1 (App. T.1 Dept.; McCooe, PJ, Davis, Suarez, JJ)