Triple Damages Imposed for Rent Overcharge

Tenant sued landlord for rent overcharge and improper apartment deregulation. The court ruled for tenant, found the apartment was rent stabilized, and awarded tenant triple damages for willful rent overcharge. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord claimed that there was no willful overcharge. But landlord failed to overcome the presumption of willfulness imposed by the law. Landlord didn't call a witness at trial or present other proof showing that it had no reason to believe that the overcharge was improper. And while current landlord didn't own the building when it was removed from rent regulation, it didn't show that the prior landlord failed to provide it with relevant records or that it relied on statements made by prior landlord. Landlord had in fact received proof of individual apartment improvements (IAIs) from prior landlord and there was no proof that any invoices were missing. And nothing supported landlord's argument that triple damages applied only to landlords that systematically and deliberately charge unlawful rents. Treble damages can be imposed for a one-time event.

Smoke v. Windermere Owners, LLC: Index Nos. 7932-7935 (113051/11, 106532/11), 2019 NY Slip Op 04760 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; 6/13/19; Friedman, JP, Sweeny, Kapnick, Kahn, Singh, JJ)