Bogatz v. Extra Touch International, Inc.

179 Misc. 2d 1029, 687 N.Y.S.2d 558, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 92
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedMarch 3, 1999
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 179 Misc. 2d 1029 (Bogatz v. Extra Touch International, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Civil Court of the City of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bogatz v. Extra Touch International, Inc., 179 Misc. 2d 1029, 687 N.Y.S.2d 558, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 92 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Debra Silber, J.

In this commercial landlord/tenant summary proceeding, the court has been asked to decide whether a notice of termination [1030]*1030upon tenant’s default and failure to cure pursuant to a conditional limitation in the lease must be served as provided in RPAPL 735 when the lease provides that it may be served by certified mail at the demised premises. It is uncontroverted that termination of the tenancy pursuant to the terms of the lease requires service of an adequate notice. (Chinatown Apts, v Chu Cho Lam, 51 NY2d 786 [1980].) No complaint has been made as to the contents of the predicate notices herein. After analyzing the dicta in the cases (there is no case on point), the statutes and the rules of statutory construction, the court concludes that despite the statutory nature of summary proceedings, the lease provision governs. (Scherer and FisherBrandveen, Lawyer’s Cooperative Practice Guide to Residential Landlord-Tenant Law in New York § 8:249 [1997].) Tenant’s motion to dismiss the petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is denied.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Tenant entered into a lease for a commercial space on or about July 29, 1998. The 10-year lease term was to commence on September 1, 1998.

On October 30, 1998, a notice to cure (properly signed by the landlord) was served by certified mail (and regular mail although not required by the lease), stating that the tenant was in default of the lease because, inter alia, it had not obtained the insurance required by the lease. The lease at paragraph 16 (the default provision) requires the notice to give tenant 30 days to cure, which it did. The manner of service of the notice was legally sufficient. The notice to cure states, in pertinent part: “If you fail to cure said defaults within thirty (30) days of the date that this Notice is mailed, then the landlord will serve a written ten (10) day Notice of Termination of the lease upon you, and upon the expiration of said ten (10) days, this Lease and the terms thereunder shall end and expire as fully and completely as if the expiration of such ten (10) day period was the day herein definitely fixed for the expiration of this lease and the terms thereof, and you shall be then required to then quit and surrender the demised premises, but you shall remain liable as provided in the lease, for (a) damages, including but not limited to, attorney’s fees pursuant to paragraph 16 of the lease; and (b) monthly use and occupancy of the premises after the date of the cancellation of the lease.”

Paragraph 16 of the lease, the default provision, provides for a notice to cure upon a default, as described above, and then [1031]*1031states, in pertinent part: “Landlord may give tenant not less than ten days written notice of termination of the Lease and on the date set forth in such notice this Lease shall expire as if said date were the date originally fixed for the expiration of this Lease, and tenant shall quit and surrender the premises to the Landlord * * * if the notice above provided for has been given and the period elapsed * * * the Landlord may re-enter and resume possession by any lawful means and remove the Tenant or other occupants and their effects by dispossess or other proceedings”.

On December 9, 1998, a 10-day notice of termination was served upon the tenant. That notice is signed by the landlord and was sent by certified mail as provided in paragraph 22 of the lease concerning notices. It was also served by regular mail, which was not required by the lease. This notice was not required to be served pursuant to RPAPL 735. This is because the lease was still in effect on the date of the notice. It therefore governs the parties’ conduct. The notice states, in part, that: “Landlords [sic] therefore elects to terminate Tenant’s Lease and tenancy on December 21, 1998, a date not less than ten (10) days from the date of service of this notice. Please arrange to surrender possession of the subject premises on that date, or the Landlord will commence summary proceedings to recover possession of said premises.”

The holdover petition is dated December 21, 1998 and was served shortly thereafter. Tenant asserts as affirmative defenses lack of subject matter and personal jurisdiction. This motion is only directed at the former issue. The court finds there is subject matter jurisdiction, for the reasons set forth below.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

Tenant alleges lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the required predicate notice (the notice of termination) was not served as required by RPAPL 735. The court finds that there is subject matter jurisdiction, as the lease provision concerning notices governs. While there is no case directly on point, the dicta in the cases, as will be explained below, combined with the applicable rules of statutory construction, require this result. The motion to dismiss is therefore denied.

It should be noted that there is no dispute as to the notice to cure, which may be served as provided by the lease. (Scherer and Fisher-Brandveen, Lawyer’s Cooperative Practice Guide to Residential Landlord-Tenant Law in New York § 8:231 [1997].)

The default provision contained in the lease herein creates a conditional limitation. Thus, a summary proceeding may be [1032]*1032brought after the notice of termination is served. (South St. Seaport Ltd. Partnership v Jade Sea Rest. 151 Misc 2d 725 [Civ Ct, NY County 1991]; Matter of Ranalli v Burns, 157 AD2d 936 [3d Dept 1990]; Grabino v Howard Stores Corp., 110 Misc 2d 591 [Civ Ct, Kings County 1981].) If the lease clause merely created a condition, a summary proceeding would not lie. (2 Rasch, New York Landlord and Tenant — Summary Proceedings §§ 23:29, 23:30 [3d ed 1988]; Perrotta v Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., 98 AD2d 1 [4th Dept 1983].)

In New York City, a 30-day notice of termination (also known as a notice to quit) in a holdover case must be served pursuant to RPAPL 735 if it is a holdover under Real Property Law § 232-a, that is, the termination of a month-to-month tenancy. This is specifically stated in section 232-a. (See also, Scherer and Fisher-Brandveen, op. cit., § 8:223.) Where the action is brought when a fixed and certain lease term has expired, a notice of termination is not required, and section 232-a is inapplicable. (89 NY Jur 2d, Real Property — Possessory Actions, § 20.) That is, when a commercial lease expires and the tenant holds over, and the landlord accepts rent beyond the expiration of the lease term, the landlord must serve a notice of termination in accordance with RPAPL 735. When the, action is brought at the expiration of the lease, no notice is required. Tenant’s attorney argues that a 30-day notice is required by statute. This is not so, as the lease governs and Real Property Law § 232-a is inapplicable.

The instant proceeding is brought under RPAPL 711 (1), “[a] proceeding seeking to recover possession of real property by reason of the termination of the term fixed in the lease pursuant to a provision contained therein giving the landlord the right to terminate the time fixed for occupancy under such agreement if he deem the tenant objectionable”. Subdivision (1) of RPAPL 711 does not require any notice prior to commencing the action, while RPAPL 711 (2) (concerning nonpayment cases) specifically does require notice “served * * * as prescribed in section 735”. There are several statutes concerning predicate notices.

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Bluebook (online)
179 Misc. 2d 1029, 687 N.Y.S.2d 558, 1999 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 92, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bogatz-v-extra-touch-international-inc-nycivct-1999.