Tenant Claims Apartment Is Her ‘Weekday' Home

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant claimed that the Manhattan apartment was her weekday home and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord claimed that there were questions of fact requiring a trial and asked for permission to conduct pretrial questioning. The court ruled for tenant. Landlord appealed and won. Tenant claimed that she lived at her Queens County residence with her husband only on weekends. She claimed that her husband lived in Queens and that they maintained a substantial degree of separateness in their living arrangement. This claim raised questions of fact. The appeals court reopened the case. Landlord was entitled to conduct pretrial questioning.

Uptown Realty Group, LP v. Buffaloe: NYLJ, 2/22/05, p. 28, col. 4 (App. T. 1 Dept.; McCooe, JP, Davis, Schoenfeld, JJ)