Tenant Given Time to Comply with Stipulation

In 1975, landlord sued tenant for breaching her lease. Tenant stipulated to pay landlord a total of $675 in monthly installments of $30. Tenant paid only $390, mistakenly thinking her security deposit covered the balance. The stipulation actually said that landlord could keep the security deposit in addition to the amount tenant agreed to pay. Landlord got a judgment against tenant in 1976 for the amount still owed on the stipulation plus interest. In the meantime, tenant had moved to California and didn't get notice of the judgment until 1992. By now, with interest, she owed landlord $19,000. Tenant asked the court to vacate the stipulation and judgment. The trial court ruled for tenant, and landlord appealed. The appeals court found that the interest accrued was totally out of proportion to the original amount tenant owed landlord. Tenant's default was unintentional, and tenant owed a relatively small amount of money. But tenant must pay landlord the remaining $285 she owed.

Riverdrive Company v. Verburg: NYLJ, p. 34, col. 1 (10/18/93) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Miller, JP, McCooe, Glen, JJ)