Trial Required on Whether Vacancy Occurred

April 30, 1997

LVT Number: 11451

Landlord sued to evict tenant. Tenant claimed he was rent-controlled and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord claimed that the apartment had been decontrolled in 1973 and that the Department of Rent and Housing Maintenance had issued an order of decontrol in 1983. The trial court ruled for tenant, and landlord appealed. The appeals court reopened the case. The 1983 decontrol order had never been subject to a hearing, and tenant showed some proof that he'd lived in the apartment since 1967 with his brother, who'd been a rent-controlled tenant.

Landlord sued to evict tenant. Tenant claimed he was rent-controlled and asked the court to dismiss the case without a trial. Landlord claimed that the apartment had been decontrolled in 1973 and that the Department of Rent and Housing Maintenance had issued an order of decontrol in 1983. The trial court ruled for tenant, and landlord appealed. The appeals court reopened the case. The 1983 decontrol order had never been subject to a hearing, and tenant showed some proof that he'd lived in the apartment since 1967 with his brother, who'd been a rent-controlled tenant. A trial was needed to determine whether there ever had been a vacancy decontrolling the apartment.

314 W. 48th St., Inc. v. McAleer: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 5 (4/9/97) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Parness, JP, McCooe, Freedman, JJ)

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