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Administrative Appeal Decision - Pretlow, Deborah (2022-09-16)

Parole Administrative Appeal Decisions

No abstract provided.

Board Of Directors For Kings Oak Terrace Coop. Apts. Inc. V Bersh

All Decisions

The landlord, Board of Directors for Kings Oak Terrace Coop. Apts. Inc., commenced a holdover licensee proceeding against the tenant, William Bersh, who was the licensee of the subject premises pursuant to an agreement with the previous shareholder, Sara Bersh. The tenant moved to dismiss the proceeding, arguing that the estate of Sara Bersh was a necessary party. The court agreed, finding that the estate of a deceased tenant is a necessary party to a holdover proceeding unless the lease has been terminated, cancelled, surrendered, or assigned. The court dismissed the proceeding without prejudice.

Woodhull Park 191 Llc V. W.M.

All Decisions

The landlord initiated a holdover proceeding against the tenant for allegedly illegally subletting the rent-stabilized apartment. The tenant defaulted at the inquest, but later filed an order to show cause to vacate the default judgment. The court granted respondent's order to show cause and vacated the default judgment and warrant pursuant to CPLR § 5015(a)(1). The court found that respondent had a reasonable excuse for her default and set forth potentially meritorious defenses of no illegal sublet. The court vacated the default judgment and warrant, and restored the proceeding for trial.

2024-2025 Fordham Law School Faculty Bibliography, Fordham Law School Library

Faculty Bibliography

Bibliography of Fordham Law School faculty publications in print from July 2024-June 2025.

309e75 Stone Llc V. Ramos

All Decisions

The landlord commenced a non-payment proceeding against the tenant based on the tenant's alleged default on rent for a market rate apartment. The tenant argued that the apartment was illegally deregulated and the landlord is charging an illegal rent. The court granted the tenant's motion for discovery to allow them to investigate their claims. The court also denied the landlord's motions to strike the tenant's defenses and for summary judgment. The court found that there are triable issues of fact concerning the apartment's regulatory status and fraud.

41-47 Nick Llc V. Odumosu

All Decisions

Landlord sued tenant in a non-payment proceeding for a rent-stabilized apartment. Tenant claims fraudulent overcharge and seeks rent reduction. The case hinges on whether the court will apply the new Chapter Amendments standard (totality of the circumstances) or the stricter Burrows decision for fraudulent overcharge claims in rent-stabilized apartments.

294 5th Ave. Realty Partners Llc V. Jimenez

All Decisions

Landlord commenced a non-payment proceeding against a rent-controlled tenant. Tenant moved to dismiss based on rent-impairing violations and harassment. Court granted tenant's motion, finding rent-impairing violations existed for over a year, and landlord failed to correct them. The court granted a 100% rent abatement from October 2019 to June 2023 due to these violations. Court also found evidence of harassment based on landlord's repeated failure to correct the roof leak and imposed a $10,000 penalty. Landlord's prior squatter holdover proceedings were deemed not to constitute harassment.

Newport Gardens Apartment, L.P. V. Surles

All Decisions

The landlord commenced a nonpayment proceeding against the tenant, alleging rent arrears. The tenant moved to dismiss the petition, arguing that the predicate rent demand was defective for failing to clearly specify the alleged arrears period and including non-itemized, non-rent charges. The court agreed that the rent demand did not comply with statutory requirements and was too confusing to inform the tenant of the actual amount owed. As a result, the court granted the tenant's motion and dismissed the nonpayment petition without prejudice to the landlord re-filing with a proper rent demand. The court also ordered the landlord to correct …

The Least Known Celebration Of America's Founding Principles—Law Day, The Honorable Katharine H. Parker, Anthony Petrosino

Fordham Law Review

Every year since May 1, 1958, the United States has recognized Law Day. Codified in 1961, it is “a special day of celebration” for Americans to reaffirm “their loyalty to the United States” and rededicate themselves “to the ideals of equality and justice under law in their relations with each other and with other countries.” Its purpose is to “cultivat[e] . . . respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life.” It tasks the President with issuing an annual proclamation calling for “public officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government …

Haskins V. Gutierrez

All Decisions

This holdover proceeding, based on a 90-day termination notice, was dismissed without prejudice. The tenant successfully argued that the termination notice failed to mention her Section 8 voucher, a crucial detail required by law. The court emphasized that such notices must accurately describe the tenancy, including any Section 8 status, to fulfill regulatory requirements. As the notice was deficient and could not be amended, the petition was dismissed.

Jewish Bd. Of Family & Children's Servs., Inc. V. Sabater

All Decisions

In a holdover eviction proceeding, the court ruled in favor of the landlord, allowing the amendment of the petition and denying the tenant's motion. Key legal points include the interpretation of statutory provisions regarding supportive housing programs and the sufficiency of termination notices.

Fieldbridge Assoc. Llc V. Rivers

All Decisions

In a non-payment proceeding in a rent-stabilized property, the court denied the tenant's motion for summary judgment, ruling that the landlord could sue for rent arrears based on the actual lease agreements rather than solely relying on the last registered rent with the DHCR. The court emphasized that the essence of the agreement between landlord and tenant, as reflected in the lease, governed the rent due, not just the last registered amount. The decision highlights the importance of lease terms in determining rent obligations in rent-stabilized properties.

65 West 68th Street Llc V. Balangue

All Decisions

The landlord sued the tenant in a holdover proceeding, claiming the tenant created a nuisance by allowing unauthorized people to live in the recreation room. The court dismissed the case because the landlord's notices failed to specify how the tenant's actions substantially disturbed other tenants or violated the lease.

Lincoln Sponsor Llc V. Wellington

All Decisions

In this non-payment case, the tenant moved to amend her answer and to dismiss the petition due to a defective rent demand. The court granted the motion to amend, noting the absence of prejudice to the landlord and the potential merit in the proposed defenses. Regarding the motion to dismiss, the court found the rent demand lacking clarity and specificity, particularly concerning additional charges, and dismissed the petition without prejudice, emphasizing the importance of compliance with RPAPL 711.

Administrative Appeal Decision - Carter, Shem (2022-03-28)

Parole Administrative Appeal Decisions

No abstract provided.

Fordham Lawyer, No. 23 - Spring 2024, 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.

Foreword, Deborah W. Denno, Erica Valencia-Graham

Fordham Law Review

This Foreword overviews an unprecedented Symposium on these wide ranging topics titled The New AI: The Legal and Ethical Implications of ChatGPT and Other Emerging Technologies. Hosted by the Fordham Law Review and cosponsored by Fordham University School of Law’s Neuroscience and Law Center on November 3, 2023, the Symposium brought together attorneys, judges, professors, and scientists to explore the opportunities and risks presented by AI, especially GenAI like ChatGPT. The discussion raised complex questions concerning AI sentience and personal privacy, as well as the future of legal ethics, education, and employment. Although the AI industry uniformly predicts ever more …

The Legal Imitation Game: Generative Ai’S Incompatibility With Clinical Legal Education, Jake Karr, Jason Schultz

Fordham Law Review

In this Essay, we briefly describe key aspects of [generative artificial intelligence] that are particularly relevant to, and raise particular risks for, its potential use by lawyers and law students. We then identify three foundational goals of clinical legal education that provide useful frameworks for evaluating technological tools like GenAI: (1) practice readiness, (2) justice readiness, and (3) client-centered lawyering. First is “practice readiness,” which is about ensuring that students have the baseline abilities, knowledge, and skills to practice law upon graduation. Second is “justice readiness,” a concept proposed by Professor Jane Aiken, which is about teaching law students to …

Fairness And Fair Use In Generative Ai, Matthew Sag

Fordham Law Review

Although we are still a long way from the science fiction version of “artificial general intelligence” that thinks, feels, and refuses to “open the pod bay doors,” recent advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have captured the public’s imagination and lawmakers’ interest. We now have large language models (LLMs) that can pass the bar exam, carry on (what passes for) a conversation about almost any topic, create new music, and create new visual art. These artifacts are often indistinguishable from their human-authored counterparts and yet can be produced at a speed and scale surpassing human ability.

“Generative AI” …

In Pursuit Of Meaningful Civil Representation: Advocacy Strategy Proposals For An Integrated Civil Gideon And Legal Empowerment Approach, Sophia T. Slater

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Toward An Ethical Human-Computer Division Of Labor In Law Practice, Abdi Aidid

Fordham Law Review

In this Essay, I explain that responsible and ethical use of AI in law practice requires reconceptualizing the lawyer’s professional relationship to technology. The current commercial-industrial relationship is based on a stylized model of technology as mechanical application, not calibrated to emergent AI-enabled technologies. Put differently, lawyers cannot interact with AI-enabled technologies the way that they traditionally interact with, say, word processors. For AI-enabled technologies, I explain that a “division of labor” framework is more fruitful; like horizontal professional relationships between peers or vertical ones in professional hierarchies, lawyers ought to interact with sophisticated technologies through arrangements that optimize for …

Introduction For Pro Se Litigants To Appealing Parole Denials, Parole Preparation Project, Michelle L. Lewin

All Categories

No abstract provided.

Educating Deal Lawyers For The Digital Age, Heather Hughes

Fordham Law Review

Courses and programs that address law and emerging technologies are proliferating in U.S. law schools. Technology-related issues pervade the curriculum. This Essay presents two instances in which new technologies present challenges for deal lawyers. It explores how exposing students to closing opinions practice can prepare them to engage these challenges. Both examples involve common commercial contexts and lessons relevant to students of business associations and of the Uniform Commercial Code. The first, which deals with enforceability opinion letters, presents technical legal difficulties arising from recent developments in law and technology. The second, involving complex doctrines at the heart of financial …

Bertie V. Norman

All Decisions

The landlord brought a holdover proceeding to evict the tenant, claiming the lease had expired. The tenant argued that the building was rent-stabilized because there were once two illegal basement apartments. The court found in favor of the tenant, reasoning that violations issued by the Department of Buildings documenting the existence of two basement apartments constituted unrebutted evidence, and that the landlord failed to disprove their existence. Since the building had more than four apartments, rent stabilization applied to all units.

654 Putnam Owners Llc V. Humphries

All Decisions

In this non-payment proceeding for a rent-stabilized unit, the court granted the tenant's motion to dismiss the petition pursuant to CPLR 4401 after the landlord rested its case at trial. The landlord alleged the unit was deregulated due to high rent vacancy, but failed to prove deregulation despite bearing the burden. The only evidence offered was speculative testimony about alleged renovations from a witness lacking personal knowledge, and DHCR rent registration records which expressly disclaimed attesting to the truthfulness of the registered rents. The court found this evidence insufficient as a matter of law to establish deregulation, an element of …

43-09 47th Ave. Llc V. Santiago

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding against a rent-stabilized tenant, the tenant moved for a stay pursuant to RPAPL § 755 due to a vacate order issued by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development after a fire in the building. The court granted the tenant's motion, holding that the vacate order constructively evicted the tenant, triggering RPAPL § 755(1)(a). Contrary to the landlord's argument, the court ruled that the tenant was not required to deposit all rent arrears under RPAPL § 755(2), but only the monthly rent. The court directed the tenant to pay the $1 monthly rent set by DHCR …

140-60 Beech, Llc V. Madan

All Decisions

In a Holdover-Breach of Lease case in the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County, 140-60 Beech, LLC sought to enforce a provision in the lease requiring air conditioning units to be installed in a wall sleeve rather than a window. The tenant argued that the landlord waived its right to enforce this provision by allowing the window unit for nearly 25 years. The court agreed with the tenant, finding that the landlord's inaction constituted a waiver of its right to enforce the provision. The court granted the tenant's motion for partial summary judgment, dismissing the petition …

Eleven Eleven Realty Assoc. V. Elizabeth

All Decisions

In this non-payment case in a co-op in Kings County, the tenant moved for summary judgment seeking a 100% rent abatement based on rent impairing violations in the common areas of the premises, citing MDL § 302-a. The landlord opposed, arguing lack of control over the common areas. However, evidence presented suggested landlord's control over maintenance decisions. The court granted tenant's motion, awarding the rent abatement, emphasizing landlord's responsibility under RPAPL 235-b to maintain habitability, and interpreting MDL § 302 to cover violations in areas under landlord's control, resulting in a substantial win for the tenant.

Genao V. Chen

All Decisions

The case involves a tenant petitioning for correction of violations of the Housing Maintenance Code (HMC). Following a Consent Order to Correct (OTC), the tenant filed an Order to Show Cause (OSC) seeking to restore the matter to the calendar for various relief, including penalties for non-compliance with the OTC. Despite service, the respondent failed to appear, leading to an inquest where the tenant provided evidence of non-compliance with the OTC. The court found the respondent in civil contempt for failing to correct a specific violation, ordering fines and potential incarceration if contempt was not purged within a specified time …

Tatum V. Jack

All Decisions

In a non-payment proceeding before the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County, Judge Karen May Bacdayan granted the landlord's motion to vacate a stipulation of settlement entered into between the parties. The court found that although there was no clear evidence of mutual mistake at the time of the stipulation, there existed a material error that warranted vacating the agreement. Key legal points include the court's discretionary power to relieve a party of an agreement if it can be shown that the mistake is substantial and that vacatur is necessary to prevent unjust enrichment. Additionally, the …