Tenant's Ex-Husband Gets Apartment

Landlord sued to evict apartment occupant after rent-stabilized tenant died. Occupant claimed succession rights. He said he was the former spouse of the deceased tenant. The court ruled for occupant and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed and lost. Occupant, who was in his seventies, proved at trial that he gave up his separate apartment in 2014, moved back into tenant's apartment where he had lived previously while married to her, and did so to care for tenant, who was suffering from dementia and could no longer live on her own. Testimony by the couple's adult children supported the court's finding that tenant and occupant had a strong, committed family relationship that included their children and grandchildren, that they shared household expenses, and that occupant provided daily companionship and support to tenant during her prolonged illness and until her death in 2016. The lack of formalization of legal and financial obligations between tenant and occupant didn't detract from the other proof of emotional and financial commitment and interdependence needed to prove nontraditional family member succession rights.

178 East 70th Street, LLC v. Weizmann: 61 Misc.3d 147(A), 2018 NY Slip Op 51717(U)(App. T. 1 Dept.; 11/30/18; Shulman, PJ, Ling-Cohan, Gonzalez, JJ)