Tenant Can Keep Barking Dog that Improved Over Time

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for breaching her lease and creating a nuisance. Landlord claimed that tenant kept a dog in her apartment that barked excessively. The court ruled against landlord after a trial. Landlord argued that tenant's dog barked incessantly at night, every night for a year, and that this disturbed other tenants. Tenant testified that she got the dog in January 2013, that it had previously been abused and barked from anxiety when left alone. Tenant now worked from home, monitored the dog's barking from a cell phone device, and claimed that the dog's behavior had improved substantially. Tenant's upstairs neighbor also testified that the dog barked a lot less now and didn't disturb. But tenant's downstairs neighbor testified that the dog still barked at times and that the noise still disturbed him. The court found all the witnesses credible. Since only one tenant complained and since the evidence was equally balanced in favor of both landlord and tenant, the court must rule that landlord failed to prove its case.

Ho Foong Shiu Realty Corp. v. Pullman: 2014 NY Slip Op 51656(U), 2014 WL 6673909 (Civ. Ct. NY; 11/24/14; Kraus, J)