Digital Commons Network^™

Lewis V. Hibbert

All Decisions

The Appellate Term affirmed the Civil Court's dismissal of the tenant's complaint for breach of lease; breach of warranty of habitability; and retaliation. The court properly applied res judicata; finding these claims arose from the same transactions as those previously settled or litigated in a prior landlord and tenant proceeding; including an allegation of harassment that should have been raised in Housing Court. Additionally; the tenant's affirmation opposing the landlord's motion was inadmissible for failing to include the mandatory language required by CPLR 2106.

Rh 507-517 West 171 Street Llc V. Linck

All Decisions

In a nonpayment proceeding where the tenant interposed a rent overcharge defense, the court granted the tenant's motion for discovery. The court found the apartment's rent history unreliable due to missing registrations and a significant rent increase, warranting discovery beyond the statutory lookback period. The landlord's cross-motion for outstanding and pendente lite use and occupancy was denied without prejudice, as the tenant raised colorable defenses of rent overcharge and warranty of habitability under RPAPL § 745(2)(a)(iv)-(v).

West 156 Holdings Llc V. Ferguson

All Decisions

In this licensee holdover proceeding, the landlord sought summary judgment against a tenant claiming succession rights to a rent-stabilized apartment. The tenant asserted he lived with his grandmother, the former tenant, until 1994, then was incarcerated for over 20 years, returning after her 2018 death. The court deemed the tenant's answer a general denial with a succession defense but struck the defense. It held that the tenant's lengthy incarceration did not constitute a "temporary relocation" under RSC § 2523.5(b)(2) and precluded him from establishing primary residence for the requisite two years before the former tenant's death. Consequently, the landlord was …

West End Avenue Equities, Llc V. Osorio-Sorondo

All Decisions

In this non-payment proceeding, the court issued a mixed decision on cross-motions. The landlord's motion to strike several of the tenant's affirmative defenses was partially granted (striking four defenses and one counterclaim) and partially denied (preserving others, including rent-stabilization and overcharge claims). The landlord's request for use and occupancy was denied, but the petition was allowed to be amended to date. The tenant's motion for discovery on the apartment's regulatory status and overcharge claim was granted, as an unexplained rent increase raised a question of fact about the rent history's reliability, enabling a deeper review.

Ceylon Leasing; Lp V. Ventura

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding; the court held a traverse hearing after the tenant moved to vacate a default judgment. Both the process server and the tenant were deemed credible. However; the court found the landlord failed to prove proper in-hand service of process by a preponderance of the evidence; citing a significant discrepancy between the tenant's physical appearance and the description in the affidavit of service; which aligned more closely with the tenant's mother. As the landlord did not move to amend the service type; the court could not sua sponte deem it substitute service. Consequently; personal jurisdiction over the …

Vavili Realty, Llc V. Vargas

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss, arguing the landlord waived its right to enforce the no-pet provision under NYC Administrative Code § 27-2009.1. The tenant claimed openly and notoriously harboring a dog, and the landlord failed to commence an eviction proceeding within 90 days of knowledge. The court found the landlord's emails and notices proved actual knowledge of the pet's presence more than 90 days before commencing the suit. Consequently, the landlord waived its right to enforce the no-pet clause, and the tenant's motion to dismiss was granted.

Clarke V. Haliman

All Decisions

In a holdover proceeding, the tenant moved to vacate a prior stipulation of settlement and dismiss the petition, arguing the apartment was rent-stabilized. The court granted the tenant's motion, vacating the stipulation, judgment, and warrant. The court found that the building, constructed before 1974, de facto contained six housing accommodations, evidenced by Department of Buildings violations for cellar units and six mailboxes, despite the landlord's claim of four legal units. Consequently, the apartment was subject to rent stabilization, and the landlord's petition, based on lease expiration for an unregulated unit, failed to state a ground for eviction and was dismissed.

Green Tree Servicing Llc V. Rivera

All Decisions

The Appellate Division; First Department; reversed the Supreme Court's denial of the landlord's motion to vacate a dismissal in a residential foreclosure action. The court found that the landlord established both a reasonable excuse for failing to appear at a status conference and a meritorious claim. Law office failure; stemming from confusion between outgoing and incoming counsel regarding appearance obligations and e-tracking; constituted a reasonable excuse. Given no willful conduct and proof of a meritorious action; the court granted the motion to vacate the default pursuant to CPLR 5015(a)(1); reinstating the complaint.

806 Seneca Ave. Assoc.; Llc V. King

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding; the court denies the tenant's second motion to vacate a default judgment and dismiss the case; finding his conclusory denial of service insufficient. However; the court grants the tenant a stay pending appeal upon payment of arrears and ongoing use and occupancy. The landlord's cross-motion to amend "Jane Doe" to the true tenant's name is denied due to a lack of due diligence under CPLR § 1024; as the true name was ascertainable from the lease. Consequently; the default judgment and warrant against "Jane Doe" are vacated; and the petition is dismissed as to that party; …

Bx Pk Phase I Preservation Llc V. Jefferys

All Decisions

Nonpayment proceeding against Section 8 voucher holder in Mitchell Lama building dismissed due to landlord's improper commencement of proceeding while tenant's ERAP application was still pending.

Lenox Twins Llc V. Watson

All Decisions

In this rent-stabilized nuisance holdover proceeding, the tenant moved for summary judgment to dismiss the petition, while the landlord cross-moved to amend the petition. The court found the landlord's predicate notice sufficiently detailed the alleged nuisance conduct. However, the tenant presented a sworn affirmation flatly denying the nuisance allegations, including throwing garbage from windows. The landlord failed to offer any rebuttal from an individual with personal knowledge or competent corroborating evidence. Consequently, the court granted the tenant's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the petition, and denied the landlord's cross-motion as moot.

Westminster Apts. Llc V. Deetjen

All Decisions

In this nuisance/breach of lease holdover proceeding, the tenant moved to dismiss, arguing the landlord's petition was defective for failure to serve a 30-day termination notice under the federal CARES Act, as the property had a federally backed mortgage. The court denied the motion, holding that the CARES Act's 30-day notice requirement applies exclusively to non-payment proceedings, not to holdover proceedings based on nuisance or lease breach. The court found that subsections (b) and (c) of 15 U.S.C. § 9058 must be read in unison, and the notice provision (c) is implicitly limited by subsection (b)'s express reference to non-payment …

14th Street Associates L.P. V. Przystup

All Decisions

In this holdover proceeding alleging the tenant's objectionable conduct due to noxious odors, the tenant filed a multi-part motion. The court denied the tenant's motion to dismiss, finding the landlord's predicate notices sufficiently particular regarding the nature and dates of the alleged odors. However, the court largely granted the tenant's motion to compel a bill of particulars, holding that identifying information of complaining tenants constituted amplification of the landlord's claims. Information about the landlord's agents, however, was deemed evidentiary and beyond the scope. The court denied the tenant's motion for discovery, finding no ample need, and the case was scheduled …

Clinton Arms Associates V. Gonzalez

All Decisions

In this nonpayment proceeding for a project-based Section 8 unit, the court granted the tenant's motion to amend her answer and for summary judgment, dismissing the case. The landlord failed to comply with mandatory HUD Handbook recertification and termination procedures, including serving deficient and untimely notices lacking required information and proof of both mailing and personal delivery. Inconsistencies in the tenant's file further highlighted the landlord's procedural failures, which improperly terminated the tenant's subsidy. As the subsidy termination was improper, the landlord was barred from maintaining a nonpayment proceeding based on market rent.

Clinton Arms Associates V. Gonzalez

All Decisions

The court granted the tenant's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the landlord's nonpayment petition. The landlord sought market rent after purporting to terminate the tenant's HUD Project-Based Section 8 subsidy. However, the landlord failed to demonstrate compliance with HUD Handbook regulations for recertification and subsidy termination. Specifically, the recertification and termination notices lacked required information, proof of proper service (including attempted personal delivery for termination), and timely issuance. The court found that deficient recertification notices, which did not state the exact market rent, preclude a nonpayment proceeding. No question of fact existed regarding the landlord's non-compliance, necessitating dismissal.

Betwixt And Between: Restorative Justice, Dei, And Education Carcerality, Thalia González, Alyssa Faith Scott

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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? …

Emotionally Unstable: Addressing Emotional Distress As A Concrete Injury In Data Breach Cases Post-Transunion, Anna P. Cox

Fordham Law Review

Data breaches and data breach litigation are exponentially on the rise. Plaintiffs whose information is stolen in a data breach often claim emotional distress for fear of future harm the data breach may cause. However, plaintiffs who bring suit in federal court must show that they have suffered an injury in fact for purposes of Article III standing before a federal court will exercise jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez requires that plaintiffs who seek money damages under a theory of risk of future harm show that they have suffered a present concrete injury to …

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 …

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 …

Is Your Data Good, Bad, Or Neutral?: Redefining Concreteness For Data Breach Harms, Jeeyoon Lim

Fordham Law Review

In recent years, the Supreme Court has tightened federal court standing requirements for intangible harms, including statutory harms. In TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, the Court held that a mere statutory violation, absent a common-law analogue, is not sufficiently concrete to grant standing. The Court did not provide clear guidance as to how stringent the common-law analogue analysis must be, other than that it does not require an “exact duplicate.” Because of the ever-evolving nature of digital data, data breach victims attempting to enforce their statutory right to privacy in federal court have struggled to rely on tradition and history …

Venturing Into Health, Rachel E. Sachs

Fordham Law Review

In recent years, the landscape of venture capital (VC) investment in healthcare technologies has been altered by the introduction of new types of VC firms: those that have emerged from hospital systems and health insurers. However, the legal literature has not yet analyzed these new VC firms, the role they may play in healthcare innovation, and how innovation law and policy ought to consider their involvement. Hospital system and health insurer VC firms operate very differently than traditional VC firms, even those that have historically developed healthcare specializations. Instead of simply investing capital into start-up firms, hospital system and health …

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 …

When The Screen Lies: Navigating Privacy And Publicity In An Ai World, Nancy M. Menagh

Fordham Law Review

A key issue of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike was the use of generative AI in the entertainment industry and, more specifically, the creation of uncanny digital replicas of performers being used without their knowledge or consent. Since then, concerns have only intensified around the unauthorized creation and use of digital replicas and the ease with which they can be made and disseminated online. Currently, there is a patchwork of state laws that attempt to target these issues, but they have proven ineffective against the challenges presented by digital replicas.

This Note analyzes the problems digital replicas have raised in the …

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 …

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

Decisions in Art. 78 Proceedings

No abstract provided.

2143 Acp Llc V. James

All Decisions

The landlord initiated a non-payment proceeding. The tenant moved to amend their answer to assert claims including rent overcharge and unlawful deregulation, and for leave to conduct discovery from 1993 to the present. The court granted the tenant's motion to amend the answer, deeming it timely filed. Citing *W Pierre Assoc. LLC v Harvey*, the court found the tenant raised a question of fact regarding the reliability of the rent history, justifying discovery beyond the typical six-year look-back period to ascertain the unit's regulatory status and potential overcharge. Discovery was granted for document production, but interrogatories were partially denied for …

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 …

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 …

135 W. 89th St., Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. V. Powell

All Decisions

The Appellate Term affirmed the dismissal of a nuisance holdover proceeding where the landlord alleged the tenant breached the proprietary lease by failing to maintain the apartment. The court found the landlord's notice of termination defective and insufficient to serve as a predicate for the proceeding. The notice was deemed conclusory, failing to provide factual allegations to support the claim that the defaults specified in the notice to cure had not been remedied during the cure period, particularly considering Adult Protective Services had performed multiple cleanings of the apartment.