Tenant Wrongly Evicted

Landlord sued to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent. In January, landlord and tenants signed a stipulation that postponed the eviction while giving tenants a chance to pay off the back rent over the next six months. The stipulation also said that landlord could evict tenants if they didn't pay back this rent on time. But landlord first had to send tenants a five-day default notice. Tenants paid several installments, but then missed the April and May payments. They were evicted in June, and another family moved into the apartment. Tenants asked the court to restore them to possession, claiming that they'd never gotten the five-day default notice. The court ruled for tenants. They were wrongfully evicted because they'd never gotten the five-day default notice. The court gave tenants about five weeks to pay all the back rent owed through June---if they do, they can move back into the apartment.

Ocean Realty Co. v. Molina: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 6 (7/27/94) (Civ. Ct. NY; Gould, J)