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The Roberts Court Paradox, John C. P. Goldberg, Benjamin C. Zipursky

Fordham Law Review

As perhaps the most conservative Supreme Court of the past century, the Roberts Court regularly touts its commitment to traditional ideals, including the rule of law. Yet Trump v. United States seems ready to place presidents entirely or largely above the law by granting them absolute or near absolute immunity from criminal prosecutions for official conduct. And Trump is not a one-off: from judicial recusal to qualified immunity to due process decisions, the Court frequently seems to display indifference to values of accountability and impartiality that have long been thought integral to the rule of law. What is going on? …

Fixing The Fix: The Case For Unifying The Remedial Framework Of Apa Rulemaking Challenges, Dea Devlin

Fordham Law Review

Vacatur is the default remedy for successful administrative rulemaking challenges brought under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Yet its broad and sweeping effects raise critical questions regarding its appropriateness as a one-size-fits-all remedy. Unlike injunctive relief, which is subject to a rigorous heightened standard, and remand without vacatur, which has a comparable standard of its own, vacatur is routinely awarded without similar scrutiny, leading to inconsistencies in the judicial application of remedies in APA challenges.

Although vacatur can provide a plaintiff with relief, its award conflicts with underlying principles of equity and proportionality. In rulemaking challenges, vacatur can create regulatory …

The Presumption Against Extraterritoriality And Wire Fraud, L. Jackson Howell Jr.

Fordham Law Review

As globalization and technology increasingly blur geographic boundaries, federal prosecutors have turned to the wire fraud statute as a powerful tool for targeting transnational misconduct. Despite its popularity in international fraud prosecution, the statute’s application to foreign conduct continues to raise unresolved and pressing questions under the presumption against extraterritoriality. Specifically, courts have struggled to identify when a domestic wire communication is sufficient to bring a largely foreign fraudulent scheme within the reach of U.S. law. With the U.S. Supreme Court silent on the wire fraud statute directly, and zigzagging in its extraterritoriality jurisprudence more generally, lower courts are split …

Are Your Secrets Safe?: Imposing A Fiduciary Duty On Healthcare Ai Developers Dealing With Sensitive Health Information, Lauren Quinn

Fordham Law Review

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to establish standards for transmitting health information. For decades, the HIPAA Privacy Rule has operated as the primary regulation protecting health information in the United States. However, in the decades since HIPAA was enacted, new technologies have demonstrated the shortcomings of the Privacy Rule. In particular, the development of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) has created new privacy concerns and exacerbated existing ones. This Note examines the current healthcare privacy framework in the United States and considers how healthcare AI complicates it. This Note also explores how AI developers …

Bsc Owner Llc V. Johnson

All Decisions

The landlord moved to restore a holdover proceeding seeking a final judgment of possession based on the tenant's alleged breach of a 2019 probationary stipulation. The stipulation required the tenant to permanently exclude her son from the premises and remove him from the household composition. The landlord's motion relied on "information and belief" that the tenant changed the head of household to her son and that the tenant may reside in Pennsylvania. The court denied the motion, finding the landlord's affirmations and documentation insufficient, lacking personal knowledge and corroborating evidence, and failing to demonstrate a breach, particularly that the son …

Decision In Art. 78 Proceeding - Bozydaj, Jared (2024-05-08)

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Marion Realty Llc V. Hall

All Decisions

In this non-primary residence holdover, the tenant moved to vacate a two-attorney stipulation of settlement, entered into with prior counsel, which required her to surrender possession. The court denied the tenant's motion, finding no evidence of fraud, collusion, mistake, or accident to invalidate the agreement. The court emphasized that a change of heart or perceived poor bargain by a represented party is insufficient to vacate a duly negotiated stipulation. As a result, the landlord may issue a warrant of eviction against the primary tenant. However, the court granted the co-respondent's motion to dismiss, as the landlord improperly used a "John …

663 Madison Ice, Llc V. Jansen

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the landlord sought arrears and possession. The court dismissed the landlord's petition without prejudice, finding the apartment rent-stabilized because the landlord failed to provide the required deregulation rider to the first tenant after a purported high-rent vacancy deregulation. Although the landlord proved substantial individual apartment improvements (IAIs), the regulatory status was deemed rent-stabilized. Consequently, the tenant's rent overcharge counterclaim was granted for $6,267.50, but claims for warranty of habitability breach, treble damages, and attorney's fees were denied.

G&L Realty Del. Llc V. Schypior

All Decisions

In this licensee holdover, the court denied the tenant's motion to dismiss or stay the proceeding, asserting concurrent jurisdiction with DHCR over succession claims and declining to stay the eviction given the administrative complaint's nascent stage and lack of use and occupancy offer. The court also denied the landlord's cross-motion for summary judgment, which contended that the tenant's B-1/B-2 visa precluded primary residence and thus succession. Citing the visa's long duration and the tenant's several years of occupancy, the court found a triable issue of fact as to whether "unusual circumstances" existed to reconcile the visa status with a claim …

Williamsburg Hous. Preserv. Lp V. Thompson

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, the landlord sought possession of a RAD/PACT unit based on the tenant's alleged failure to provide access. The tenant moved to dismiss, arguing the landlord failed to serve the mandatory federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) notices with the predicate termination notice and petition. The landlord cross-moved to amend the affidavit of service but could not prove service of the VAWA notices with the termination notice. The court granted the tenant's motion, dismissing the petition without prejudice, holding that failure to serve the requisite VAWA notices mandates dismissal for covered housing providers.

547 W. 147th St. Hdfc V. Henry

All Decisions

In this non-primary residence holdover proceeding; the court granted the tenant's motion for a protective order in part; striking most items in the landlord's notice to admit. The court ruled that CPLR 3123 precludes notices to admit from seeking admissions on ultimate facts central to the case; such as the tenant's primary residence; employment; or voting history in another state. Only admissions concerning the existence and genuineness of a lawsuit were deemed proper. The court also granted the tenant leave to amend their answer to add an affirmative defense challenging the landlord's authority to terminate the proprietary lease; finding it …

317 W. 89th St. Llc V. Bell

All Decisions

In this licensee holdover proceeding, the Appellate Term, First Department, affirmed a Civil Court order denying the landlord's motion to strike the tenant's jury demand. The court held that a jury trial is appropriate where the tenant's counterclaims for harassment and discrimination seek only money damages, making the relief sought legal, not equitable, in nature. The tenant's appeal concerning the striking of her affirmative defenses was deemed abandoned. This decision establishes that counterclaims for monetary damages in a holdover proceeding, even if tied to harassment or discrimination, warrant a jury trial.

Linder V. Lafayette Morrison Hdfc

All Decisions

The Appellate Term affirmed a lower court's decision granting summary judgment to the tenant in an illegal lockout proceeding. The tenant, son of a deceased rent-stabilized tenant, had been locked out after a prior holdover proceeding against his father and him was dismissed without prejudice to a licensee holdover. The court held that the tenant, having previously asserted succession rights and acknowledged occupancy, was either a lawful occupant or in constructive possession and could not be evicted without due legal process, reinforcing the principle that self-help evictions are impermissible.

Harlem Restoration Hdfc V. Brewer

All Decisions

In this nonpayment case, the court granted a tenant's motion for partial summary judgment on a harassment counterclaim. The judge found that the landlord's repeated failure to correct hazardous violations created a **rebuttable presumption of harassment** under NYC Admin. Code § 27-2004. Since the landlord failed to rebut this presumption, the court awarded the tenant **statutory damages** of $1,000, and imposed a civil penalty of $2,000 payable to HPD. The court also issued a Class "C" harassment violation against the landlord, but the case remains pending for a final determination on the remaining claims.

Decision In Art. 78 Proceeding - Copeland, Phillip (2024-09-06)

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

3515 Eastchester Rd., Llc V. Soto

All Decisions

A landlord commenced a "no grounds" holdover proceeding against a tenant. The landlord moved to amend its petition and the "Good Cause Eviction Law" (GCEL) notice, citing new grounds for eviction. The tenant cross-moved for summary judgment, arguing the GCEL notice was not attached to the predicate notice and was defective. The court granted the landlord's motion to amend the petition but denied amendment of the predicate GCEL notice, reaffirming that predicate termination notices are non-amendable. As compliance with GCEL notice provisions is a condition precedent, the court granted the tenant's cross-motion, dismissing the proceeding without prejudice due to the …

Long Development Corp. V. Perez

All Decisions

In a nonpayment case, a tenant successfully moved to hold the landlord in civil contempt for violating court-ordered stipulations. The stipulations required the landlord to correct a severe cockroach infestation by implementing **integrated pest management (IPM)** as required by NYC Housing Maintenance Code § 27-2017.8. The court found that the landlord's limited pest control methods—spraying and using traps—were insufficient and constituted disobedience of a clear and unequivocal court mandate. The judge ordered a hearing to determine the tenant's compensatory damages and directed the landlord to immediately begin proper IPM practices.

Wellington V. Lucien

All Decisions

A landlord's motion to amend a petition to correct a misdescription of the premises was denied, leading to the dismissal of the holdover case. The court found that the misdescription, a violation of RPAPL § 741(3), was a fatal jurisdictional defect that could not be corrected, even though the parties had previously stipulated to a final judgment of possession. The tenant's cross-motion for harassment was also denied without prejudice, with the court advising the tenant to seek relief in a separate HP action, as the prior two-attorney stipulation of settlement had not addressed the harassment claims. The ruling highlights that …

Meier V. 451 W. Owners Ltd.

All Decisions

In an HP proceeding, a landlord was held in civil contempt for failing to correct violations, leading to a $240,560 money judgment for civil penalties. The landlord moved to vacate the judgment and HPD's restraining notice. The court denied the motion to vacate the judgment, affirming its validity and rejecting arguments for its modification. However, the court did vacate the restraining notice, finding it **defective** for non-compliance with the notice requirements of **CPLR 5222**, but did so without prejudice. The ruling allows HPD to re-serve a proper notice to enforce the a valid judgment.

Vital Brookdale Llc V. Moore

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, the court denied the landlord's application for a default judgment and dismissed the petition. The landlord alleged the tenant failed to comply with income recertification procedures. The court found the petition improperly verified by an attorney lacking personal knowledge. Crucially, the court held that the lease provision, which allowed termination upon ten days' notice for non-compliance, constituted a condition, not a conditional limitation. Consequently, a summary holdover proceeding could not be maintained as a conditional limitation, providing for automatic lease expiration upon notice, was absent.

Krcm Realty Co. Inc. V. Ahmad

All Decisions

The court granted the tenant's motion for contempt, finding both the landlord and its principal, Karan Singh, in civil contempt for their willful failure to comply with multiple court orders and stipulations to repair a severe rodent and cockroach infestation. The court awarded the tenant over $21,000 in compensatory damages, including a full rent abatement for 11 months and $5,000 for personal property destroyed by pests. The landlord was given 30 days to abate the nuisance, after which the court would impose a $100 daily fine as a rent credit. The court also warned that failure to comply would result …

19 W. 89th St. Llc V. Cornine

All Decisions

In this ejectment action, the court granted the landlord's motion for summary judgment, awarding $114,036.68 in use and occupancy and possession of the rent-stabilized apartment. The tenant's various defenses, including claims of a defective rent demand, issues with the landlord's corporate name, an invalid renewal lease, and breach of the warranty of habitability, were all rejected. The court found that the tenant owed rent arrears from February 2018. The tenant's cross-motion to amend the answer to add affirmative defenses and a counterclaim was denied as unmeritorious. The court emphasized that the landlord sought possession due to non-payment, not the tenant's …

Ppc Residential Llc V. Urtarte

All Decisions

In a nonpayment proceeding where the petition was dismissed, the court denied the landlord's motion to dismiss the tenant's counterclaims. The court held that the counterclaims, which alleged **breach of the warranty of habitability**, survived the dismissal of the petition because the amended answer containing them had been deemed filed prior to the dismissal. The court also denied the landlord's request for an extension of time to file a reply, finding they failed to provide a reasonable excuse for the delay. The court, however, did grant the landlord's motion to join the condominium board as a necessary party, to determine …

Lemena Holdings Llc V. Wo Kee Noodle Inc.

All Decisions

The court denied the tenant's motion to dismiss the nonpayment petition, which was based on a claim of res judicata from a prior dismissed case. The court found that the previous dismissal was due to a **defective rent demand**, a procedural prerequisite, and not a decision on the merits of the underlying claim for rent. Therefore, the doctrine of **res judicata** did not apply to bar the landlord from commencing a new proceeding after correcting the deficiency in the predicate notice. The court reasoned that a dismissal based on a failure to comply with a preliminary act does not preclude …

5539-181 & 182 Prospect Park W. Brooklyn Llc V. Rivera

All Decisions

In this licensee holdover, the tenant moved for summary judgment, arguing he was a "disabled person" under rent control regulations and thus only required to prove one year of co-residency for succession rights. The landlord argued against applying the broader definitions from the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), favoring the narrower standard of the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as applied in a prior appellate case. The court, however, ruled that whether the tenant is a "disabled person" is a triable issue of fact and that it may appropriately look to the ADAAA for guidance, …

An Alternate History Of Chevron, With A Lesson For Today, Michael Herz

Fordham Environmental Law Review

It is a banal truism that judicial deference to agency decisionmaking enables the executive branch to pursue its agenda, whatever that agenda may be. That was obvious to all in the early years of the Chevron decision, which was greeted enthusiastically on the right and skeptically on the left. In Chevron itself, and for a while thereafter, deference advanced the Reagan deregulatory program. Over the years, a subtler conclusion gained consensus: overall and in the long haul, judicial deference is likely to have a net pro-regulatory impact. Hence the right’s hardened opposition to Chevron leading up to its demise. But …

Alekna V. 207-217 W. 110 Portfolio Owner Llc

All Decisions

The Appellate Division, First Department, remanded this class action for trial to determine if the landlord engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deregulate apartments while receiving J-51 tax credits. The court applied the "totality of the circumstances" standard, which superseded the stricter common-law fraud standard, and held that tenants must prove the landlord "knowingly engaged" in the fraudulent scheme. The decision found no impermissible retroactive effect in applying the new standard and affirmed that managing agents can be held liable for their participation in a fraudulent scheme. The court denied the tenant's summary judgment motion and modified the lower court's …

445 Bleecker Bh Llc V. Fausto Alejandro Jara Castro

All Decisions

In this non-payment case, the court granted the tenant's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the proceeding. Although the building predated C of O requirements, the court found that the landlord had illegally altered the building by creating additional apartments without the required permits. This action constituted a violation of Multiple Dwelling Law §§ 301 and 302, which prohibits a landlord from collecting rent or maintaining a non-payment action for an illegally occupied dwelling. Based on judicial notice of DOB and ECB violations, the court determined the landlord was barred from pursuing the action, resulting in a substantial win for the …

Lana, Llc V. Coffie

All Decisions

In this case, the landlord sued to recover unpaid rent and use and occupancy after a tenant's eviction was delayed for over two years due to COVID-19 moratoria. The Appellate Division reversed the lower court, holding that the landlord's claim for arrears that accrued after the final judgment of possession was not barred by the doctrine of res judicata. The court reasoned that the unique circumstances of the pandemic-related delay meant the later-accrued costs were not part of the same "transaction" as the initial holdover proceeding. It also held that the landlord's claims for damages from the tenant's failure to …

Kersey V. 491 Equities Llc.

All Decisions

In an HP action, the court found the landlord failed to correct defective floors in the tenant's apartment as required by a prior order. Despite the landlord's claim of having made repairs, the court determined that the use of wood putty was insufficient and a proper repair required replacing the subfloor and flooring. The court issued a new Order to Correct and scheduled a hearing for the imposition of civil penalties, finding the landlord's non-compliance was a continuous violation of the Housing Maintenance Code.