Jamaica Seven, LLC v. Byfield

• Court: Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York
• Decided: June 26, 2020
• Docket: 2020 NYSlipOp 50751(U)
• Status: Published

Opinion

Jamaica Seven, LLC, Appellant,

against

Megan Byfield, Respondent.

Curtis Harger, Esq., for appellant. Megan Byfield, respondent pro se (no brief filed).

Appeal, on the ground of inadequacy, from a judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Tracy A. Catapano-Fox, J.), entered January 17, 2018. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $2,998.

ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed, without costs.

Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover use and occupancy and other sums from defendant, its former tenant, who had been evicted from her apartment after a holdover summary proceeding. After a trial, the Civil Court awarded plaintiff $2,998, representing use and occupancy for June and July of 2017. Plaintiff appeals, on the ground of inadequacy, arguing that the court should have awarded use and occupancy for May of 2017 as well.

In a small claims action, our review is limited to a determination of whether "substantial justice has . . . been done between the parties according to the rules and principles of substantive law" (CCA 1807; see CCA 1804; Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584 [2000]; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125 [2000]). Limiting our review to the arguments before us, we find no basis in the record to disturb the Civil Court's determination, and conclude that the judgment thus rendered substantial justice between the parties (see CCA 1804, 1807).

Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

ALIOTTA, P.J., SIEGAL and TOUSSAINT, JJ., concur.

ENTER:
Paul Kenny
Chief Clerk
Decision Date: June 26, 2020