Tenant's Sister Claims Succession Rights

Landlord sued rent-stabilized tenant and tenant’s sister in State Supreme Court, claiming that they owed over $78,000 in back rent or use and occupancy. Tenant moved into the apartment in 1989. Tenant’s sister lived with her in the apartment. Tenant moved out of the apartment at some point, while her sister remained in occupancy. Landlord sued to evict tenant in 1997 for nonprimary residence and claimed that the sister was an illegal subtenant. Landlord abandoned that proceeding in 1998, and no further action was taken against tenant until 2007, when landlord sued to evict her for nonpayment of rent. That case was dismissed by the housing court in 2011 without prejudice because landlord failed to prove a landlord-tenant relationship.

The court ruled for tenant and dismissed the Supreme Court action. It was undisputed that tenant had abandoned the apartment, and her lease wasn’t renewed in 1997. Since the apartment had been surrendered by operation of law, landlord had no claim for rent against tenant. The case remained open against tenant’s sister, who then claimed succession rights. The court granted landlord's request to dismiss the sister's claim without a trial. The sister appealed, and the case was reopened. The sister's claim wasn't time-barred, and there were questions of fact as to whether the sister lived in the apartment since the inception of the tenancy and whether she had succession rights. 

Cenpark Realty LLC v. Gurin: NYLJ 6/19/14, p. 25, col. 2 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Mazzarelli, JP, Friedman, Saxe, Feinman, JJ)