Tenants' Negligence and Nuisance Claims Based on Renovation Noise Largely Dismissed

Rent-controlled tenant and his son, who lived in a condominium building, sued the building corporation, the building's management company, and the owner of tenants' apartment, who also owned about 40 other units in the building. Tenants claimed trespass, defamation, negligence, nuisance, and breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, all stemming from construction noise in the building. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case.

The court denied the portion of the defendants' motion seeking dismissal of tenants' trespass claim. The son claimed that the noise prevented him from working at home on his graduate school thesis, and he had entered another open apartment and yelled at people when frustrated by the noise. Tenants claimed that the managing agent later entered tenants' open apartment to confront them and that this was trespass. Tenants sufficiently set forth a claim for intentionally entering another person's property without justification or permission, although this was disputed by the defendants. The parties disagreed as to whether tenant let the agent into the apartment or whether entry was justified by the son's behavior when he yelled at people in the other apartment about the noise. It didn't matter whether tenant suffered any damages; the claim stood. Since damages, if any, appeared nominal, the court scheduled a settlement conference concerning the trespass claim. 

Otherwise, the court dismissed tenant's other claims. Tenant complained of defamation by the building owner to his landlord but those parties shared a common interest. The court dismissed the negligence claim based on failure to post Tenant Protection Plan notices since there were no actual damages or injuries. The court also dismissed tenants' nuisance claim since they didn't show that the renovations were unreasonable or that the defendants had no right to make the renovations. 

Breiterman v. 89th & Madison Owners Corp.: Index No. 151146/2023, 2025 NY Slip Op 151146/2023 (SUp. Ct. NY; 1/16/25; Cohen, J)