Tenant Living in Nursing Home

(Decision submitted by Santo Golino of the Manhattan law firm of Kucker Kraus & Bruh, attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant claimed that although she'd been in a nursing home for the past three years, she still considered the apartment as her primary residence. Tenant went to the nursing home to recover from an injury, and stayed there. She still kept her belongings at the apartment. Landlord argued that tenant could now return to the apartment, but chose to stay in the nursing home. The court ruled that tenant wasn't a primary resident of the apartment. The doctor who evaluated tenant found that she had no physical or psychological reason for staying in the nursing home, but preferred to do so. Tenant appeared to be happy living in the nursing home, and wasn't likely to leave.

661 Washington Street Corp. v. Cata: NYLJ, p. 29, col. 2 (6/29/94) (Civ. Ct. NY; Dubinsky, J)