Digital Commons Network^™

Carroll Flats Llc V. Gibson

All Decisions

In this holdover licensee proceeding, the landlord sought possession of a rent-stabilized apartment, alleging the tenant remained unlawfully following the death of the tenant of record. The tenant claimed succession rights as the daughter of the deceased. Although she lacked formal documentary evidence such as a birth certificate, testimony from an uninterested long-time neighbor established a familial relationship. The tenant also presented government benefit records demonstrating occupancy during the relevant two-year period. The court emphasized that lack of financial interdependence and formal documents is not dispositive in succession claims, particularly for low-income families. The landlord failed to rebut key factual …

Klein V. 3868 Broadway Realty Llc

All Decisions

In this HP action, the tenant sought enforcement of a consent order requiring the landlord to correct numerous housing violations. Despite the landlord's assertion of compliance, including the lifting of a vacate order and claimed lack of access, 42 violations remained pending, 39 of which were part of the original consent agreement. The court found credible tenant claims of uncorrected hazardous conditions, including mold and electrical sparks. Citing legal precedent and the city's housing code, the court imposed civil penalties totaling $122,425 through March 17, 2025. Practice note: A vacate order being lifted does not extinguish liability for ongoing uncorrected …

Chun Lin V. Lu Mei Chen

All Decisions

In this holdover based on a terminated month-to-month tenancy, the landlord alleged personal service of a 90-day termination notice, but the tenant denied receipt. At trial, both parties presented witnesses supporting their version: the landlord's unlicensed process server claimed personal service, while the tenant's friend testified the tenant was in Brooklyn on the service date. The court found both witnesses credible but equally interested, creating evidentiary equipoise. Because the burden of proving service rested with the landlord and the evidence did not preponderate in his favor, the court held that valid service had not been established. The petition was dismissed …

Why Top-Two Primaries Can't Be Fixed, Quinn Yeargain

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

No abstract provided.

Voter Confidence And The World Of Appearances: Where Campaign-Finance And Election-Administration Law Collide, Kishore S. Chundi

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

Scholarship on election-administration measures (like voter ID laws) and campaign-finance laws has been siloed. American political affiliations, in their current form, dictate that liberals support campaign-finance restrictions and oppose voter ID laws, and vice versa for conservatives. But the Court has analyzed both measures using the similarly odd lens of appearances—the perception of electoral integrity in voter ID cases and the perception of corruption in campaign-finance cases. Yet despite the nearly identical justifications for campaign-finance and election-administration measures, the Court has treated these claims quite differently. Election-administration laws receive nearly automatic deference, whereas campaign-finance laws are routinely overturned. This Article …

The Law Of Disqualification And Problems With The Supreme Court Code Of Conduct, Donald K. Sherman, Marco A. White, Virginia Canter

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

In this Article, we analyze the federal disqualification statute applicable to federal judges, magistrates, and Justices of the Supreme Court as compared to the disqualification provisions of the United States Supreme Court Code of Conduct and detail the ways in which the standards contained within the Code are contrary to law and history. To provide proper context, we examine the history, case law, and statutory framework that have created the current standards of judicial disqualification for all Article III judges and Justices. We demonstrate that the Court is bound to apply disqualification procedures in accordance with the United States Constitution, …

Wuaneshaw Anderson V. Chana Eisner & Benjamin Eisner

All Decisions

Tenant sought remedies for unsafe conditions and harassment, including failure to restore electricity, water, and repair windows and doors. After a lengthy procedural history and inquest, tenant established harassment by landlord and agent, including delays in repairs and retaliatory behavior. Civil penalties of $2,000 were imposed on landlord, and tenant was awarded $10,000 in punitive damages. The court denied compensatory damages due to insufficient evidence of out-of-pocket expenses but ruled in favor of tenant. The case was restored for a hearing on attorney's fees. Landlord's actions were found to be intentional and malicious, warranting punitive damages as a deterrent to …

Okonkwo V. Galbreath

All Decisions

In this expired license holdover proceeding, Respondent moved to dismiss on the ground that the subject SRO building is subject to the Good Cause Eviction Law and Petitioner had not alleged cause to evict. The court dismissed the petition because Petitioner, though claiming the small landlord exemption under RPL § 231-c, failed to plead in the petition or predicate notice the ownership disclosure required by RPAPL § 741(5-a) and (5-b).

Fordham Lawyer, No. 24 - Spring 2025, Fordham Law Alumni Association, Fordham Law School

Fordham Lawyer

Fordham Lawyer magazine was first published in 1988 and continued through 2004. It returned in 2011 under Dean Michael M. Martin. The magazine shines a spotlight on faculty research, the Law School community, and the accomplishments of our alumni. No issues were published between 2004 and 2011.

Burrows V 75-25 153rd St., Llc

All Decisions

Tenant alleged landlord fraudulently inflated rents beyond lawful limits, invoking the fraud exception to the four-year lookback period. The lower court denied dismissal, but the Appellate Division reversed, requiring reasonable reliance on fraud. The Court of Appeals clarified that tenants need only show "sufficient indicia of fraud," not reliance, to invoke the exception. The court sent the case back for further review, instructing the lower court to apply this standard when deciding if the fraud exception applies.

Matter Of Ll 410 E. 78th St. Llc V. Division Of Hous. & Community Renewal

All Decisions

The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of a landlord's Article 78 petition seeking to annul DHCR's decision to deny its application to amend rent registrations. The landlord claimed the registrations were mistakenly filed, as the unit was permanently exempt due to high-rent vacancy. However, DHCR denied the application, interpreting RSC § 2528.3(c) to permit only ministerial, not substantive, amendments. The court found this interpretation to be rational, as it protects tenants from fraud, preserves agency resources, and reserves complex disputes over regulatory status for adversarial proceedings rather than preemptive amendment applications. The court held that DHCR's action was not …

685 Sterling Associates V. Stein

All Decisions

In this nonpayment case, the tenant argued that the apartment had been improperly deregulated and that she had been overcharged. After a strong motion for summary judgment, the parties reached a favorable settlement for the tenant. The landlord agreed to re-establish the rent-stabilized tenancy, reduce the rent to $1,900, waive arrears of approximately $20,000, and grant an 18-month rent credit. The landlord also agreed to complete certain repairs and sign a renewal lease by March 2025.

Ppsp Preservation Llc V. Williams

All Decisions

The court dismissed the non-payment proceeding because the landlord improperly named the tenant as "Jane Doe" despite having actual knowledge of her identity. The court found the defect unamendable, as the use of a pseudonym is permissible only as a last resort. Additionally, the proceeding was dismissed as a legal nullity because the tenant of record was deceased at the time of filing. The landlord's cross-motion to amend the caption was denied as moot.

100 John Mazal Spe Owner Llc V. Sage

All Decisions

The court granted tenant's motion to enjoin landlord from reporting unpaid rent to credit reporting agencies pending trial. Tenant, representing herself, alleged a lack of hot water in the kitchen for 3.5 years and in the bathroom for 8 months. The court ruled that reporting unpaid rent in such circumstances would deter tenants from exercising their right to withhold rent for repairs. Under CCA §110(c), the court found it had authority to issue injunctive relief to protect housing standards.

Stankiewicz V. Bristol E. Co.

All Decisions

In this class action, tenants allege rent overcharges and unlawful de-regulation of their apartments while the landlord received J-51 tax credits. The court denied both parties' summary judgment motions, citing triable issues of fact on whether the landlord engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deregulate. The case revolves around the "totality of the circumstances" standard for proving fraud in the deregulation process under the 2024 Rent Stabilization Law amendments. Discovery will proceed before motions can be renewed.

Social Movement Lawyering And Due Process Values, Susan D. Carle

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Properly Partitioning Prejudice: Analyzing Mixed Brady And Napue Claims, Patrick Scariano

Fordham Law Review

Due process affords criminal defendants the right to receive evidence possessed by the government that would aid in their defense. This right was codified in Brady v. Maryland. Brady’s lesser-known ancestor is Napue v. Illinois, which gave defendants the right to a new trial if the government knowingly offered perjured testimony in their original trial. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that these rights are critical to support verdicts worthy of confidence necessary to ensure due process.

Unfortunately, defendants victimized by misconduct are often affected by multiple violations of their rights. Courts have developed ways to examine …

Efta Coverage Of Modern Consumer Wire Transfers: Consumer Financial Regulation In The Wake Of Loper Bright, Benjamin Gygi

Fordham Law Review

The rise of online banking has led to a proliferation of consumer fraud. Schemes aimed at stealing consumer funds using wire transfers executed through online banking portals have proven particularly devastating to consumers because of a perceived loophole in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) that leaves consumers with full liability for funds stolen through wire transfers. Consumer advocacy groups, and most notably the New York Attorney General, have recently argued that this loophole does not really exist; they claim that the EFTA’s text conclusively covers certain parts of modern wire transfer processes initiated through online banking portals. Considering the …

Jewish Lawyers And The Labor Movement, Catherine L. Fisk

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taking Integrity Risks Seriously, Miriam H. Baer

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Shortcomings Of Law School And Big Law, Julian Velasco

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Lawyering As A Public Health Tool: Enforcing Title Ii Of The Americans With Disabilities Act With Preventative Litigation, Elena Cohen

Fordham Law Review

A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that plaintiffs cannot bring a claim alleging a risk of unnecessary institutionalization under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This directly contradicts the holdings of six other circuit courts and guidance issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ)—all of which maintain that Title II of the ADA (Title II), the integration mandate, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Zimring permit these claims. This Note explores how the circuit courts have evaluated risk of unnecessary institutionalization claims, including …

Mtglq Invs., Lp V. Mendoza

All Decisions

In this post-foreclosure holdover proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss the petition based on the use of an outdated predicate notice. The petitioner, MTGLQ Investors, admitted to a filing error and cross-moved to amend the petition, submitting the correct notice of service. The court, under CPLR §2001, allowed the petitioner to correct the error and deemed the correct notice served nunc pro tunc, denying the tenant's motion to dismiss. The tenant's motion to file an answer was granted, and the matter was scheduled for trial.

Administrative Appeal Decision - Rodriguez, Rodolfo (2025-01-17)

Parole Administrative Appeal Decisions

No abstract provided.

The U.S. Electoral System And Foreign Interference, Jeremi Suri

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

No abstract provided.

1334 B Llc. V. Pritchard

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, the landlord erroneously alleged that the tenant, a rent-stabilized tenant, was a licensee. After sanctions were imposed against landlord's counsel, the landlord moved to discontinue the proceeding. The court granted the motion but also issued an Order to Correct outstanding housing code violations and permitted the tenant to amend their answer to include counterclaims, a significant victory for the tenant given the initial flawed legal position of the landlord.

“Restating” The Record: Evaluating Ali’S Aided-By-Agency Disclaimer, Danielle Dascher

Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Ai In The Courtroom: The Boundaries Of Robolawyers And Robojudges, Hadar Y. Jabotinsky, Michal Lavi

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and undoubtedly impacting every aspect of our lives. From lethal drones, to Apple’s Siri, and improved cancer diagnostics, AI algorithms are also increasingly integrated into decision-making. This article illuminates the impact of AI on the legal system and profession.

Currently, AI legal tools support lawyers’ and judges’ work and can assist in tasks such as due diligence, legal analysis, classification of documents by Technology-Assisted Review (TAR), providing legal advice, and engaging in predicting legal judgments. AI can even assist judges in decision making for risk assessments during sentencing. The …

Jockeying For The Reigns Of Our National Banking System: Florida “Fair Access” “Anti-Esg” Legislation Saddles Federal Regulators And National Banks With Preemption Fight, Meghan Mcalary

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Rehabilitating Compassionate Release: An "Extraordinary And Compelling" Case For Increased Judicial Discretion, Sami P. Chahi

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.