Tenants Violated Court Stipulation

Landlord sued to evict tenants for chronic nonpayment of rent. Landlord and tenants signed a probationary settlement agreement in court, which required tenants to pay rent on time in the future during the probation period or else be evicted. Landlord later sought execution on the eviction warrant based on tenants' violation of the agreement. The court ruled for tenants. Landlord appealed and won. Tenants repeatedly failed to comply with a clear "time is of the essence" provision of their agreement, and had already obtained three stays of the eviction warrant after violating the agreement to pay rent on time. Strict enforcement of the agreement was warranted given tenants' extensive history of rent defaults, which continued into the probationary term.

830 Sheva Associates LLC v. Vasquez: 41 Misc.3d 127(A), 2013 NY Slip Op 51659(U) (App. T. 1 Dept.; 10/11/13; Lowe III, PJ, Shulman, Torres, JJ)