Tenant Gets Fees for Owner Occupancy Case

Facts: Landlord sued to evict tenant to recover apartment for owner occupancy. The court ruled against landlord, and tenant demanded attorney's fees. Landlord claimed that tenant couldn't get attorney's fees based on the language of his lease. The lease clause referred only to the right to attorney's fees incurred in rerenting the apartment. Landlord claimed that since there was no rerenting of tenant's apartment, it never became entitled to attorney's fees and so tenant couldn't claim a reciprocal right to attorney's fees. Court: Landlord loses. The lease clause in question was broad enough to allow landlord to recover attorney's fees in any case in which there was a breach of the lease and landlord ultimately got the apartment back. That was what landlord sought to do in this case. Since landlord lost, tenant could get attorney's fees just as landlord would have gotten had he won the case.

Schippers v. Mass: NYLJ, p. 35, col. 5 (2/24/99) (Civ. Ct. Kings; Rodriguez, J)