Tenant's Son Didn't Prove His Absence from Apartment Was Temporary

Landlord sued to evict rent-controlled tenant's son after tenant died. The son claimed pass-on rights. Landlord claimed that the son didn't live in the apartment for two years before tenant died. The court ruled for landlord without a trial, and tenant's son appealed. The appeals court ruled against the son. Tenant's son was in jail before his mother died. But he showed no proof that this was a temporary absence from the apartment. Before jail, landlord showed that tenant's son lived with his wife in Great Neck, pending a divorce. Department of Corrections records listed another Great Neck address as the son's intended residence upon release. Tenant's son produced no documentary proof of occupancy in the apartment to counter landlord's evidence. He submitted only statements by his two brothers, which were inconclusive.

City Realty Assocs. Ltd. v. Westreich: NYLJ, 4/28/04, p. 24, col. 2 (App. T. 2 Dept.; McCooe, JP, Davis, Schoenfeld, JJ)