Tenant's New Jersey Address Was Primary Residence

(Decision submitted by Scot Mackoff of the Manhattan law firm of Mitofsky Shapiro Neville & Hazen LLP, attorneys for the landlord.) Landlord sued to evict rent-stabilized tenant for nonprimary residence. Landlord claimed that tenant lived primarily in New Jersey. The court ruled for landlord after a trial. Tenant voted from the apartment and was billed for utilities there. Five witnesses also claimed that they saw him in the neighborhood. But tenant paid his taxes from the New Jersey address and changed his driver's license from New Jersey to New York during the trial. He banked in both New York and New Jersey, and admitted that he needed to be in New York City for business reasons. And although tenant's wife lived in New Jersey, there weren't many phone calls from tenant's cell phone or his New York City telephone land line to the house in New Jersey.

29 Jones Co. v. Pagliaroni: L&T Index No. 100039/06 (6/6/08) (Civ. Ct. N.Y.; Jackman-Brown, J) [1-pg. doc.]