Tenant Proves He Didn't Sign Renewal Lease

Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant in 2008. The trial court dismissed the case, finding that the nonrenewal notice wasn’t served during the legal window period prior to the expiration of the two-year renewal lease found by the court to be in effect. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord had claimed that tenant signed a one-year renewal lease that expired on March 31, 2008. Landlord sent the nonrenewal notice before that date and started the eviction proceeding shortly thereafter. But tenant claimed that a two-year deemed renewal was in effect and scheduled to expire on March 31, 2009. The trial court believed tenant and tenant’s handwriting expert, who testified that the signature on the signed renewal lease that landlord presented in court wasn’t tenant’s. Since landlord didn’t prove that the lease it relied upon was valid, it couldn’t prove the nonrenewal notice was timely.

25 West 86th St. Operating Corp. v. Blanchard: NYLJ, 9/25/12, p. 22, col. 2 (App. T. 1 Dept.; Schoenfeld, JP, Shulman, Hunter Jr., JJ)