Digital Commons Network^™

Connors V. Kushner Cos., Llc

All Decisions

App Div 2nd affirms Supreme Court (Montelione, J.) denying tenants' motion to amend their complaint in this rent overcharge class action. Tenants sought to amend based on a change in the law, but the court holds that a change in law is grounds for a motion to renew, not amendment of the complaint. In any event, tenants' argument was "patently devoid of merit."

Decker Assoc., Llc V. Deutsch

All Decisions

App Term 1st affirms (Chinea, J.) landlord's summary judgment in Loft Law nonpayment. The landlord did not forfeit RGB increases by awaiting the Loft Board's final rent order before seeking them, as the increases "did not accrue or become collectible" until that order issued. Tenant's statute of limitations and laches defenses are rejected on the same basis.

Fifth Ave. 25g, Llc V. Sambar

All Decisions

App Term 1st reverses (Chinea, J.), holding that respondent did not waive his personal jurisdiction defense by moving for summary judgment on the merits, because he had previously raised that defense (citing Gliklad v Cherney). Respondent's nonconclusory denial of the process server's claims necessitates a traverse hearing; matter remanded accordingly.

Lafayette Nelson Apts., Llc V. Perez

All Decisions

App Term 1st affirms lower court post-trial order finding that tenant did not make himself or his apartment available for repairs, defeating his warranty-of-habitability defense. The appellate court accords due deference to lower courts on matters of credibility, and upholds the determination.

3890-98 Broadway Assoc. Llc V. Hiraldo

All Decisions

App Term 1st affirms (Ortiz, J.) denial of tenant's motion to vacate default judgment. The process server's affidavit constitutes prima facie evidence of proper service under RPAPL § 735(1), and tenant's mere conclusory denial of receipt was insufficient to rebut the presumption. Tenant also failed to demonstrate a meritorious defense.

525 W. 52 Prop. Owner V. Tsokanos

All Decisions

App Term 1st affirms (Ortiz, J.) in objectionable conduct holdover based on unlawful short-term rentals. Tenant consented to the accelerated trial date and offered no good reason for an adjournment; applications for adjournments are addressed to the court's sound discretion and are upheld absent an abuse of discretion.

East Harlem Mec Parcel C, L.P. V. Smalls

All Decisions

App Term 1st affirms (Ortiz, J.) denial of landlord's motion to renew filed nearly two years after the original dismissal order. Landlord offered no reasonable justification for failing to present the new evidence in the original motion. Additionally, the new evidence — an ex parte unsworn DOB letter — does not constitute a formal agency opinion or definitive final agency determination entitled to deference, so it would not have changed the outcome.

Vina V. Cuevas

All Decisions

In consolidated Small Claims actions, the court holds that a prime tenant who sublet an illegal basement apartment (no CO) is barred from collecting rent under MDL § 302(1)(b). The sublease was also independently void because the prime tenant's lease expressly excluded the basement, leaving him no possessory interest to convey. The prime tenant is ordered to return the security deposit for failure to comply with GOL § 7-108 itemization requirements, but is awarded damages for unpaid electricity.

The Second Henry Street H.D.F.C. V. Aryvz

All Decisions

In this failure-to-renew holdover involving a rent-stabilized Shelter Plus Care (SPC) apartment, the court dismisses because the petition failed to plead the existence of the SPC rental subsidy administered by HPD and the applicable federal pre-termination procedures. The omission was per se prejudicial because it deprived tenant — an SPC participant entitled to federal due process protections — of notice of a potential defense. Petitioner's motion to amend denied because petitioner did not allege it had followed SPC pre-termination procedures.

Brar V. Kaur

All Decisions

In this GCEL holdover, petitioner's motion to amend the petition to add required small landlord exemption disclosures is granted. However, petitioner's motions for summary judgment and use and occupancy are denied: summary judgment is premature because no answer has been filed and petitioner failed to authenticate key documents; U&O is denied because neither two adjournments nor 60 days have elapsed under RPAPL § 745(2).

Thomas Lin V. Marin-Zapata

All Decisions

In this GCEL holdover based on nonpayment of rent, the court dismisses the proceeding because petitioner failed to include the small landlord exemption disclosures required by RPAPL § 741(5-b) and RPL § 214(1), per Morgan v Caesar. Petitioner did not seek amendment to cure the deficiency.

How Did We Get Here?, Michael J. Klarman

Fordham Law Review

President Donald J. Trump’s second administration has transgressed basic rules and norms of democracy and the rule of law in myriad ways. Below, I have laid out my own top ten list of transgressions, though others could surely have made out a good case for their own “favorites.” It would not be difficult to come up with a longer list, yet the purpose of my Levine Lecture is less to describe where we are than to explain how we got here. Following an enumeration of Trump administration transgressions, my lecture turns to two questions. First, why have traditional checks on …

Fabricating The Crime Of Undocumented Presence, Eric S. Fish, Doug Keller

Fordham Law Review

In 2025, the Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) declared that it is a federal crime simply to be an undocumented immigrant. Congress has enacted no such crime. Congress has made it a crime for an immigrant to enter the United States in a manner that “eludes examination or inspection.” For nearly 100 years, this “elude” offense has been understood to occur only at the moment an immigrant enters the country. But the Trump administration’s OLC has reinterpreted this crime as a continuing offense. Under this new reading, an immigrant who entered unlawfully eludes examination until the moment of …

The Alien Enemies Act Of 1798, Andrew Kent

Fordham Law Review

For the first time since World War II—and for the first time ever outside a formally declared war—an American president has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and deport noncitizens. Enacted during the Quasi-War with France, the Act’s operative language remains largely unchanged today. In March 2025, President Donald J. Trump proclaimed that members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua present in the United States are “alien enemies,” asserting that their activities, allegedly coordinated with President Nicolás Maduro’s government, constitute an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” within the meaning of the statute. Litigation challenging the invocation of …

The Role Of Reliance In Stare Decisis Doctrine, Rochelle Hestnas

Fordham Law Review

The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent treatment of reliance interests in stare decisis doctrine is in flux. The Court has overruled long-standing precedent such as Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey with scant analysis as to how reliance interests factor into stare decisis doctrine, despite continuing to name reliance as a factor that should be considered. Arguments for whether and how reliance interests deserve protection are inherently challenging because it cannot be the case that every precedent should stand. Using Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization as a case study, this Note analyzes the Court’s claim …

News That Will Not Break: How The First And Fourth Amendments Can Jointly Protect The Press From Secret Government Intrusions Into Newsgathering, Julianna Margolin

Fordham Law Review

The modern constitutional and statutory framework permits the U.S. government to obtain journalists’ confidential source information and work product by secretly serving third-party service providers with subpoenas. While the First Amendment protects journalists and the Fourth Amendment guards against unreasonable government searches, new technology and the involvement of third parties complicate the balance between independent newsgathering and government access.

This Note examines reporters’ privilege jurisprudence stemming from the seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision Branzburg v. Hayes, which declined to recognize a categorical privilege. This Note also explores the subpoena power in the digital age as it converges with privacy …

Public Libraries, Limited Forums: Critiquing The Fifth Circuit’S Decision In Little V. Llano County, Spencer Emelia Petrick-Knoll

Fordham Law Review

Conflicts over the collections of public libraries have become increasingly frequent in the twenty-first century. In 2025, the Fifth Circuit held that library collections are government speech, thereby preventing patrons from challenging book removals. This Note critiques that decision and analyzes which First Amendment doctrine should govern the curation decisions of a public library. It examines the historical evolution of the public library and First Amendment doctrine to argue for classification of the public library’s collection as a limited public forum. This classification allows libraries to make reasonable, viewpoint-neutral decisions about retaining books in their collections while ensuring that viewpoint …

What Can States Teach? The Right To Education After Mahmoud, Will Simon

Fordham Law Review

In the summer of 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court set new limits on what public schools could require students to learn. Mahmoud v. Taylor pitted a school district interested in promoting pluralism against religious parents who wished to withdraw their children from classroom instruction that promoted celebration and acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. The Court found a violation of those parents’ constitutional right to freely exercise their religion, which both expanded the control parents can exert over their child’s public school education and increased the likelihood of similar claims going forward. As federal courts hear this newly expanded set of First …

Splitting The Baby: Determining The Causation Standard In Family And Medical Leave Act Retaliation Claims, Eliana C. Singer

Fordham Law Review

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees employees unpaid leave following certain qualifying events. The FMLA not only provides substantive rights but also prohibits retaliation against employees who exercise those rights. When employees face unlawful retaliation, they can bring retaliation claims against their employers. However, there is disagreement among courts as to how to evaluate these claims. More precisely, courts are split concerning whether employees must prove their use of leave was a but-for cause of retaliation, or merely that it was one of an employer’s mixed motives for retaliating. The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and …

The Mirage Of Meta Pixel Code: Redefining Pii In The Era Of Generative Ai, Sophie Venter

Fordham Law Review

Data privacy laws are intended to put consumers in control of whether their identifying data can be sold and used for targeted advertising. However, these laws do not provide adequate protections in the era of generative artificial intelligence (AI). This Note examines one way that existing privacy law permits companies to profit from selling data for targeted advertising without obtaining user consent: transferring video watching data in a pixel code. Some U.S. Courts of Appeals have determined that these data transfers do not sufficiently identify users and the videos they watched to constitute violations of user privacy. This has led …

85 E. End Owner, Llc V. Ferraro

All Decisions

App Term partially modifies a Housing Court default judgment in this GCEL holdover for failure to sign a renewal lease. The lower court denied tenant's motion to vacate the default — tenant offered no explanation for missing the inquest — and App Term agrees on that point. But App Term adds a 30-day cure period under RPAPL § 753(4), holding that the statute, a remedial provision construed liberally to extend its "beneficial effects as widely as possible," reaches GCEL holdovers grounded in a tenant's failure to renew a lease.

Snyder V. Sivic Realty Corp.

All Decisions

Tenant missed trial in this small claims warranty of habitability action and Civil Court denied his motion to vacate the resulting default. App Term reverses. The court finds that the missed appearance was an isolated incident for which tenant offered an adequate excuse, and that tenant's underlying claim for habitability damages has sufficient merit to warrant reinstatement. The action is remanded for further proceedings.

649 W. De Llc V. Hernandez

All Decisions

In this rent-stabilized nonpayment proceeding, the court partially grants tenant's summary judgment motion and dismisses the petition because the monthly rent alleged is not the correct legal regulated rent. A ~230% rent increase appearing in the DHCR rent history is unexplained and unsubstantiated by proof of IAIs or other legitimate grounds; landlord failed to rebut the challenge with credible evidence. Tenant's overcharge counterclaim denied without prejudice because tenant submitted no proof of rent payments.

Ms Houses Tp4 Llc V. Rincon

All Decisions

In this Project Based Section 8 nonpayment proceeding, court grants tenant's motion for partial summary judgment and dismisses the petition without prejudice. The dispute concerns whether deferred SSDI lump sum payments received by tenant in 2023 for years 2021 and 2022 constitute income for purposes of calculating tenant's rent share under HUD regulations. Court holds that under 24 CFR §5.609(b)(16) and HUD Handbook §5-6(Q)(2), such deferred social security lump sum payments are excluded from annual income. Because the rent demand was based on incorrectly calculated shares, it was defective and the proceeding is dismissed.

1410 Vyse Llc V. Briscoe

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, tenant filed a post-eviction OSC. Though tenant lacked the reasonable excuse required under CPLR 5015(a)(1), the court grants the OSC under RPAPL § 749(3), which allows restoration to possession upon good cause shown. Good cause exists because arrears are low, HRA (through CityFHEPS) covers nearly all the rent, and the remaining balance will be covered by a CityFHEPS modification.

J&S 49 Prince Llc V. Parra

All Decisions

Respondent superintendent moves for summary judgment dismissing this RPAPL §713(11) holdover on the ground that petitioner's notice of petition materially departed from the mandatory form prescribed by AO/163/19 and 22 NYCRR §208.42(b): the "Language Help" multilingual section contained corrupted characters, organizational boxes were omitted, and prescribed emphasis and visual spacing were eliminated. Court holds that "mandatory" means the prescribed form must be used—it is not suggested language from which a petitioner may construct a substitute—and applies the First Department's strict compliance standard from Riverside Syndicate, Inc. v. Saltzman, 49 AD3d 402 [1st Dept 2008]. The departures impair the form's access-to-justice …

Buddy Properties Llc V. Radomski

All Decisions

Nuisance holdover dismissed without prejudice. Paragraph 17(a) of the parties' lease gives the owner the option to terminate after a cure period but does not state the lease shall automatically expire on a date fixed in the notice—no conditional limitation clause. Under binding Second Department precedent, a conditional limitation is a prerequisite for a summary holdover proceeding. Judge Bacdayan notes the rationale is increasingly difficult to justify given RPAPL §753(4)'s statewide extension and effective unenforceability of such clauses against rent-stabilized tenants, but declines to depart from controlling authority absent appellate guidance.

Charles V. John Doe 1-9

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, court grants tenant's cross-motion to dismiss because petitioner — an irrevocable trust — appeared through a non-attorney trustee rather than through counsel. Court holds that while a trustee may commence an action on behalf of the trust, the trustee's duty runs to the trust itself, and a trust may not appear through a non-attorney. Dismissal is without prejudice. Court declines to permit cure by allowing trustee to retain counsel, as Second Department authority requires dismissal where a proceeding was improperly commenced by one who could not proceed pro se.

Federal Natl. Mtge. Assn. V. Frame

All Decisions

Petitioner brought this holdover under RPAPL §711(1) following a nonjudicial UCC Article 9 foreclosure of cooperative shares, but concedes it possesses neither the stock certificate nor the proprietary lease. To maintain a §711(1) proceeding, petitioner must qualify as a lessee entitled to possession under RPAPL §721(10). Entitlement to a lease is not the same as possession of one; without an executed proprietary lease from Bay Terrace Cooperative, petitioner lacks the possessory interest required for standing. Dismissed without prejudice. Cross-motion for summary judgment denied.

Kenilworth Holdings Llc V. New York City Rent Guidelines Board

All Decisions

Multiple landlord LLCs bring this Article 78 / declaratory judgment action challenging RGB Apartment and Loft Order No. 58 (June 25, 2026), the Board's first rent freeze since its 1969 inception, covering all rent-stabilized apartments for leases commencing October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Petitioners allege the freeze was a predetermined outcome engineered by the mayor's Board appointments and campaign promises, pointing to a Board member who resigned the morning of the vote citing procedural irregularities; they seek annulment of the order and expedited discovery of communications between the Mayor's Office and the Board. The Board contends the freeze …