Cirigliano v. Brown

185 Misc. 329, 57 N.Y.S.2d 113, 1945 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2176
CourtCity of New York Municipal Court
DecidedMay 25, 1945
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 185 Misc. 329 (Cirigliano v. Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering City of New York Municipal Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cirigliano v. Brown, 185 Misc. 329, 57 N.Y.S.2d 113, 1945 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2176 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1945).

Opinion

Scileppi, J.

This is a holdover proceeding brought by the landlord under paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of section 6 of the Bent Regulation for Housing issued by the Office of Price Administration in the New York City Defense-Rental Area (8 Fed. Reg. 13918). The landlord has'owned the premises in question and known as 435 Beach 125th Street, Belle Harbor, Queens County, New York, since prior to November 1, 1943, and seeks possession for immediate occupancy for herself and family.

The petition alleges the execution of a written lease by Caterina Oirigliano as landlord, and Mabel L. Brown and Paula S. Calder as tenants. By its terms the lease commenced on May 1, 1944, and expired on April 30, 1945.

The petition also alleges that Albert Calder and Isidore Brown are the undertenants. In fact they are the respective husbands of the two tenants who executed the lease. The petition also alleges that a preliminary notice of not less than ten days required by paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of section 6 of the Rent Regulation for Housing in the New York City Defense-Rental Area (8 Fed. Reg. 13918) has been duly given “ both to the tenant and to the Area Rent Office ”. It does not allege service of said notice on the undertenants.

The tenants and undertenants herein have appeared specially challenging the jurisdiction of the court on several grounds. One of those grounds is that the landlord failed to comply with the Rent Regulation for Housing as provided for in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of section 6 by omitting to serve a notice not less than ten days prior to the commencement of this proceeding upon those designated as undertenants.

[331]*331The occupants of the premises, both tenants and undertenants concede that no such notice was given. The only notice served was the ten-day notice served upon the tenants by mail in addition to that served on the Office of Price Administration.

It appears that both the tenants and undertenants were all served with a copy of the petition and precept in this proceeding.

The tenants also contend that the ten-day notice that was served on them by mail does not constitute proper service, and is insufficient in law. It is their contention that such a notice must be served personally in order for the court to acquire jurisdiction in the proceeding.

The other grounds upon which the tenants challenge the court’s jurisdiction herein need not be considered in disposing of this proceeding, and the court will consider only the question of the necessity for the serving of the ten-day notice on the undertenants, and whether the notice served on the tenants by mail was sufficient in law.

As to the first point, paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of section 6 of the Bent Begulation for Housing also provides in part: “ Notice required— (1) Notices prior to action to remove tenant. Every notice to a tenant to vacate or surrender possession of housing accommodations shall state the ground under this section upon which the landlord relies for removal or eviction of the tenant. A written copy of such notice shall be given to the area rent office within 24 hours after the notice is given to the tenant.

“No tenant shall be removed or evicted from housing accommodations by court process or otherwise, on any ground other than nonpayment of rent, unless at least ten days prior to the time specified for surrender of possession and to the commencement of any action for removal or eviction, the landlord has given written notices of the proposed removal or eviction to the tenant and to the area rent office, stating the ground under this section upon which such removal or eviction is sought and specifying the time when the tenant is required to surrender possession.”

With regard to the portion of the above section that refers to a three-day notice in nonpayment proceedings, the area rent control office in this defense area has relaxed this rule.

It appears therefore that the landlord is not now required to serve any three-day notice upon the tenant or the Office of Price Administration in a nonpayment proceeding in this rent area. However, the landlord is required to file with the clerk a statement known as the D-8 form as required by said regula-

[332]*332As to the ten-day notice, paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of section 6 does not state in what manner the ten-day notice required under said section is to be served upon, the tenant. It merely provides that it be given ” to the tenant.

. On the question of the method by which said notice should be served, it is well established and it has been repeatedly held in this State that .where service of a notice is required, either by statutory provision or by established judicial procedure, the service must be personal unless a different mode of service is authorized. The Legislature has power to say whether a notice as a condition precedent to the doing of an act may be given by publication or by leaving at the place of business or at the dwelling house of the party to be notified or by mail, but in the- absence of such legislative provisions such notice must be personal. (Skinner v. Sullivan, 112 Misc. 365; Matter of Blumberg, 149 App. Div. 303; McDermott v. Board of Police of Metropolitan Police District, 25 Barb. 635, 641; Matter of Sullivan, 31 Misc. 1, 4; Steinhardt v. Bingham, 182 N. Y. 326, 328; Beaks et al. v. DaCunha, 126 N. Y. 293, 297; Herter v. Mullen, 52 App. Div. 325, 329-330.)

The following rule was enunciated in Herter v. Mullen (52 App. Div. 325, 329-330, supra) wherein the Appellate Division, First Department, stated: “ Whenever a party is entitled to such a notice, he is entitled to a personal notice, and I am not aware of any provision of' law entitling a party to serve.any notice by mail, except in a few cases where that permission is expressly given by statute. (Rathbun v. Acker, 18 Barb. 393; McDermott v. Board of Police, 25 id. 635; People ex rel. Niagara Bridge & C. R. R. Co. v. L. & B. R. R. Co., 13 Hun, 211.) ”

Our Legislature has provided for the method in which certain notices to terminate tenancies must be served. For example section 232-a of the Beal Property Law provides for the method of serving a thirty-day notice where the' tenant occupies the premises under a monthly tenancy or a tenancy from month to month. Specifically, it provides that the thirty-day notice in writing be served in such cases in the same manner, as the service of a precept in summary proceedings is now allowed to be served by law. The service of a precept is governed by section 1421 of the Civil Practice Act.

Section 1421 of the Civil Practice Act reads as follows:

Precept; how served. The precept must be served as follows: 1. By delivering to the person to whom it is directed, or, if it is directed to a corporation to an officer of the corporation upon whom. a summons issued out of the supreme court [333]*333in an action against the corporation might be served, a copy of the precept together with a copy of the petition. [Subd. 1 as amd. by L. 1927, ch. 593, eff. Sept. 1, 1927.]

“2.

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Bluebook (online)
185 Misc. 329, 57 N.Y.S.2d 113, 1945 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2176, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cirigliano-v-brown-nynyccityct-1945.