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320 Manhattan Ave. Lp V. Nebbou

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, both landlord and tenant moved for summary judgment to determine the legality of the rent and the apartment's regulatory status. Tenant claimed an overcharge from the tenancy's inception, arguing the apartment should have been rent stabilized earlier. Landlord contended it was rent controlled until tenant's occupancy, making the initial rent lawful. The court denied both motions, citing unresolved material issues of fact regarding the apartment's status before the tenant's lease. The court also found the tenant did not provide sufficient evidence of a fraudulent scheme to evade rent stabilization laws, which would be required to review …

Consumer Vs. Code: The Future Of Consumer Smart Contracts From Code To Legal Practice, Amir Bushansky

Fordham International Law Journal

This Article evaluates the feasibility of implementing consumer contracts—including standard-form agreements—as smart contracts and assesses their adaptability through the lens of consumer protection law.

Specifically, it examines whether the traditional consumer contract framework can be meaningfully implemented in the form of smart contracts. It further considers whether such implementation necessitates adaptations—both in the technological architecture of the contracts themselves and in the underlying legal framework. By addressing these questions, the Article aims to contribute to a more coherent and forward-looking approach to regulating automated, code-based contracting in consumer markets.

Shared Cooper Llc V. Callejas

All Decisions

The landlord initiated a Good Cause Eviction Law (GCEL) holdover proceeding, seeking possession based on the tenant's alleged failure to pay rent. After a trial, the court dismissed the petition with prejudice, finding the landlord did not establish good cause under RPL § 216[1][a][i]. While the tenant sometimes paid rent late, evidence showed consistent curing of arrears, and the tenant was fully current before the predicate notice. The court determined that for "failure to pay rent due and owing" under GCEL, chronic delinquency and prejudice to the landlord must be proven, which was not demonstrated here.

875 Riv. View Realty Llc V. Marzullo

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, the Appellate Term affirmed the Civil Court's denial of the tenant's motions for summary judgment, which sought to dismiss the landlord's petition. The tenant argued the current proceeding was precluded by res judicata, citing a prior holdover proceeding dismissed for lack of standing. However, the court ruled that a dismissal for lack of standing is not a final determination on the merits, thus res judicata was inapplicable. The court also rejected the tenant's mootness claim regarding a renewal lease due to triable issues of fact, and upheld the denial of a subsequent partial summary judgment motion …

1362 Ocean Llc V. Phillip

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the court granted the tenant's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the landlord's petition. The court awarded a 100% rent abatement for May-November 2024 due to rent-impairing violations under MDL § 302-a, specifically a leaky roof in common areas. The landlord's claim of denied access was rejected as the violations were in areas under its control. Additionally, the court found the landlord engaged in harassment, directed HPD to place a Class C violation, ordered the landlord to cease harassing conduct, and imposed a $5,000 civil penalty. The tenant's escrowed funds were released.

Decision In Art. 78 Proceeding - Johnston, Frank (2023-04-13)

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

St. Ann's Apartments Llc V. Pickett

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, the landlord sought possession after the tenant of record, the respondent's cousin, passed away, alleging the respondent's license expired. The tenant asserted succession rights as a non-traditional family member, arguing emotional and financial commitment and interdependence. Despite limited documentary evidence and contrary testimony from the landlord's superintendent, the court found the tenant's and the deceased's brother's testimony credible. The evidence demonstrated the tenant resided in the apartment as a primary residence for over two years and provided extensive care and support to the ailing tenant of record. The court granted succession, dismissing the proceeding and ordering …

Corst V. Mushailov

All Decisions

A landlord sued former tenants for rent arrears. Tenants defaulted, and a judgment was entered against them. Tenants successfully moved to vacate the default judgment, raising the issue of improper service. The court found that the tenants' objection to personal jurisdiction was preserved. Subsequently, tenants timely moved to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing that service was attempted at their former address seven months after they had vacated. The court agreed, finding that service was not made in strict compliance with CPLR 308 (2) as the address was not their dwelling place or usual abode. The motion …

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

All Decisions

In this licensee holdover for succession rights to a rent-controlled apartment, the landlord sought possession after the tenant-of-record's death, alleging the respondent was a licensee without succession. The landlord served judicial subpoenas on the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) and the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) for extensive records related to the deceased tenant's foster parenting. The tenant moved to quash the ACS subpoena, arguing it was impermissibly broad, a fishing expedition, and sought confidential information about non-party minors. The court granted the tenant's motion, finding the landlord was not a proper party to seek foster care records …

175-177 E. 3rd St Owner Llc V. Linn

All Decisions

The court denied the tenant's motion to dismiss in a holdover proceeding. The tenant's personal jurisdiction defense was waived by interposing unrelated counterclaims for rent abatement and overcharge. Challenges to predicate notice service based on minor discrepancies were insufficient to warrant a traverse hearing. The landlord did not vitiate the notice as the petition was filed before the alleged rent payment was deemed received. The Good Cause Eviction Law was inapplicable as the proceeding commenced before its effective date. However, the court granted the tenant's request for discovery regarding an alleged fraudulent scheme to deregulate the rent-stabilized premises, citing recent …

Nsa 2015 Owner Llc V. Moore

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the landlord's motion to restore the case for a final judgment and warrant of eviction was denied as moot because the tenant fully complied with the settlement stipulation by paying the agreed-upon arrears. The court additionally held that Private Housing Finance Law (“PHFL”) § 610 charges, which allow rental subsidies to pay above legal regulated rent, do not permit the landlord to increase the tenant's portion of rent or seek a possessory judgment for such charges in a summary proceeding. The entire nonpayment proceeding was dismissed.

Lefferts Ave. Ventures Llc V. Keennlyside

All Decisions

The court addressed a tenant's motion to dismiss a landlord's action for unpaid rent arrears, arguing a three-year statute of limitations for consumer credit transactions under CPLR 214-i. The tenant contended that unpaid rent constituted a consumer credit transaction. The court, however, rejected this argument, distinguishing it from consumer debt under the FDCPA. It ruled that failure to pay rent is a breach of a lease agreement, subject to a six-year statute of limitations for breach of contract, not a consumer credit transaction. Therefore, the tenant's motion to dismiss was denied, allowing the landlord's claim to proceed.

Department Of Housing Preservation And Development Of The City Of New York V. Singh

All Decisions

The court granted the landlord's (HPD's) motion for sanctions against the tenants and their counsel, finding their conduct frivolous under 22 NYCRR § 130-1.1(c)(3). The tenants' motion to vacate judgments, alleging fraud by HPD, was deemed legally and factually baseless. The court cited false material factual statements, meritless legal arguments regarding penalty calculations, and unsubstantiated accusations of fraud and dishonesty against HPD and its attorneys. Sanctions of $1500 were imposed on a respondent and their counsel, along with an award of the landlord's attorneys' fees and costs.

Bsp Gigi Llc V. Dixon

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, arguing the landlord's 14-day rent demand was defective. The court found that because the property's mortgage, originally private, was assigned to the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) in 2019, it became a "covered unit" under the CARES Act. Consequently, the landlord was required to serve a 30-day notice, not a 14-day notice. As the predicate notice was defective and cannot be amended, the tenant's motion was granted, and the proceeding was dismissed without prejudice.

Decision In Art. 78 Proceeding - Bryant, William (2025-06-09)

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Dk Stockho Llc V. Roberts

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the tenant challenged the landlord's claim that the premises were deregulated due to individual apartment improvements, asserting a rent overcharge. After initial discovery revealed conflicting evidence regarding the cost of a boiler installation, the tenant moved for additional discovery, including interrogatories and document production. The court granted the tenant's motion, finding "ample need" for the requested information due to the conflicting evidence, the information being exclusively within the landlord's control, and the requests being tailored to clarify disputed facts. The court denied the landlord's cross-motion for sanctions, concluding the tenant's conduct was not frivolous.

Hofgur Llc V. Rucker

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding against an adult care facility resident, the court granted the tenant's guardian ad litem's post-judgment motion. The motion sought to stay execution of the warrant of eviction. The court stayed the warrant, conditioning its future execution on the landlord proving compliance with Department of Health regulations 18 NYCRR 487.4(m) and 18 NYCRR 487.5(f)(19). These regulations mandate that the landlord make persistent efforts to assist the tenant in securing appropriate alternative placement at a higher level of care, including filing five applications with other facilities.

The Coalition For Fairness In Soho And Noho, Inc. V. City Of New York

All Decisions

The Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division, upholding the City's 2021 rezoning plan for SoHo/NoHo artist lofts. The plan imposed a one-time fee on landlords for converting Joint Living-Work Quarters for Artists (JLWQA) units to unrestricted residential use. The court held that this fee does not constitute a compensable taking under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. It reasoned that landlords lack a compensable property interest in converting their units to a new, more valuable use, as the fee does not burden their existing property rights or coerce them into relinquishing an interest that the government would otherwise have to …

Elliot Place Estates Llc V. Williams

All Decisions

A landlord commenced a nonpayment proceeding, resulting in a default judgment against the rent-stabilized tenant. The tenant moved to vacate the default judgment, asserting a lack of personal jurisdiction due to improper service and seeking leave to serve a late answer. The court granted the tenant's motion solely to the extent of scheduling a traverse hearing. It determined that the tenant's detailed factual affirmation challenging the purported service constituted a credible counter-narrative, sufficiently rebutting the presumption of proper service established by an affidavit of service and thus warranting a hearing to resolve the jurisdictional question.

Usc 462 West 141 Llc V. Richards

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the tenant moved for summary judgment, asserting the landlord was precluded from collecting rent under Multiple Dwelling Law (MDL) § 302(1)(b) because the building was occupied contrary to its certificate of occupancy. The court granted the tenant's motion, taking judicial notice of HPD and OATH/ECB violations indicating unlawful combining of rooming units. The court confirmed that such violations prevent rent recovery and nonpayment proceedings for any unit, regardless of whether the unlawful occupancy directly relates to the tenant's apartment. The court also held that the MDL § 302 defense is not waivable and dismissed the landlord's …

Gomez V. Gomez

All Decisions

This licensee holdover proceeding, initiated by the landlord against family member tenants-at-sufferance, was dismissed by the Civil Court for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The landlord had sought to evict the tenants based on a 30-day notice under RPL § 228. However, the court ruled that Housing Court, operating under RPAPL Article 7, lacks jurisdiction over common law tenancies at sufferance, as Article 7 does not explicitly provide for such proceedings. The court emphasized that statutes in derogation of common law must be strictly construed. The decision directs the landlord to pursue an ejectment action under RPAPL Article 6 in …

Floral Park Properties Llc V. Hartman

All Decisions

In a holdover proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss for the landlord's failure to serve the required Good Cause Eviction Law (GCEL) notice with the petition. The landlord cross-moved to amend the petition. The court, interpreting RPL § 217 and § 231-c, found that the GCEL notice is akin to a predicate notice requiring strict compliance. Failure to include the GCEL notice with the petition is an incurable and fatal defect. Consequently, the tenant's motion to dismiss was granted, the landlord's cross-motion to amend was denied, and the proceeding was dismissed without prejudice.

Ford V. Ford

All Decisions

The landlord, as trustee, commenced a holdover proceeding to evict the tenant from a cooperative apartment, alleging she was a licensee. After a trial, the court granted the tenant's oral motion for judgment as a matter of law and dismissed the petition. The court found that the tenant, who had been in exclusive possession since 1986, was a tenant at will entitled to a 30-day notice under RPL 228, which the landlord failed to serve. The court also ruled that judicial estoppel did not apply, as the prior related proceeding was voluntarily discontinued without a judgment.

Bedford Avenue Associates V. Gurley

All Decisions

In this project-based Section 8 non-payment proceeding, the tenant moved for summary judgment and an order to correct. The court granted the tenant's unopposed motion, dismissing the landlord's non-payment claim without prejudice due to the landlord's failure to serve the required Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) notice with the termination notice. The court also granted the tenant's demand for an order to correct housing violations, finding nine open violations in the apartment as per DHPD's report.

Dyckman 1010 Llc V. Brea

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding, the court granted the tenant's pre-answer motion to dismiss the petition. The landlord's Notice of Petition was deemed defective for failing to comply with the mandatory form prescribed by 22 NYCRR § 208.42(b) and Administrative Order 163/19. The court found that even minor deviations from the standard form were fatal to the proceeding and rejected the landlord's attempt to amend the defective notice. Consequently, the petition was dismissed without prejudice to the landlord's underlying claims.

Infringement Through Imitation: Ai Chatbots And The Characters They Infringe, Isabella Herrera

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Chatbots that purport to embody the personas of copyrighted characters are poised to be a central issue for the IP legal field and the entertainment industry. In September of 2025, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI, a leader in the “character” chatbots market, demanding removal of numerous chatbots that were reportedly based on characters from Disney franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, and the Pixar films. Character.AI allegedly removed all infringing characters, however it remains unclear whether character chatbots platforms are required to do so under IP law. This Note addresses the issue of copyright infringement for character chatbots and …

From Player Piano To Generative Ai: Artificial Expression And The Law Of Copyright, Douglas Lind, Adrienne Holz

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

American copyright law has experienced challenges and sometimes faltered when confronting mechanical reproduction. This Article retraces the rise and diffusion of the player piano and the phonograph, examining how they reshaped the making and listening to music. As these technologies spread throughout American society more rapidly than copyright law could adjust, courts misclassified piano rolls and records as merely mechanics. Reducing these new fixations to machinery rather than embodiments of human expression left recorded human musical performances inadequately protected, which facilitated piracy. Applying these lessons, this Article contends that generative AI training implicates copyright law in ways not dissimilar to …

Big Tech As Transnational Spyware Regulator, Natalie R. Davidson

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Spyware has emerged as a potent tool for leaders to shrink dem- ocratic contestation. In response to calls for constraints on the trade in spyware, states have updated the principal multilateral agree- ment on export controls, civil society groups have employed strate- gic litigation, and the European Union has altered its regulation, in each case with the aim of limiting exports where there is a risk of human rights violations. Yet, scandals involving the Israeli company NSO, among others, have made clear that even the updated regula- tory landscape is inadequate. Many actors are currently debating the reasons for existing …

When The “Public Interest” Violates The First Amendment: Jimmy Kimmel And Fcc Chair Brendan Carr, Joel Timmer

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Following the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, comments made by late-night ABC host Jimmy Kimmel sparked controversy after some interpreted his remarks as implying conservative responsibility for the crime. The backlash intensified when Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr publicly suggested that Kimmel’s statements were misleading and potentially inconsistent with FCC policy, warning that broadcast stations airing the program should address the matter or risk regulatory consequences, including fines or license revocation. Shortly thereafter, major broadcast groups suspended the program, followed by ABC’s temporary suspension of the show. These events raised serious concerns about whether the FCC Chair’s …

From Player Piano To Generative Ai: Artificial Expression And The Law Of Copyright, Douglas Lind, Adrienne Holz

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

American copyright law has experienced challenges and sometimes faltered when confronting mechanical reproduction. This Article retraces the rise and diffusion of the player piano and the phonograph, examining how they reshaped the making and listening to music. As these technologies spread throughout American society more rapidly than copyright law could adjust, courts misclassified piano rolls and records as merely mechanics. Reducing these new fixations to machinery rather than embodiments of human expression left recorded human musical performances inadequately protected, which facilitated piracy. Applying these lessons, this Article contends that generative AI training implicates copyright law in ways not dissimilar to …