Shihab v. 215-217 West 108th Street Associates

133 Misc. 2d 145, 506 N.Y.S.2d 651, 1986 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2985
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedSeptember 22, 1986
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 133 Misc. 2d 145 (Shihab v. 215-217 West 108th Street Associates) 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
Shihab v. 215-217 West 108th Street Associates, 133 Misc. 2d 145, 506 N.Y.S.2d 651, 1986 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2985 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Lewis R. Friedman, J.

These are two cases which were commenced under RPAPL article 7-A. They are being decided together because they present for decision two important issues which have not been addressed in the reported cases: (1) the rights of a party who commences a proceeding under RPAPL article 7-A to file a notice of pendency, and (2) the rights of the owner to a cancellation of a notice of pendency which has been filed in an article 7-A proceeding.

BACKGROUND

A proceeding under RPAPL article 7-A can be commenced either by the Commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development of the City of New York (DHPD) or by one third or more of the tenants in a dwelling. The petition alleges that there are conditions at the premises which are "dangerous to the life, health and safety” of the tenants. (RPAPL 770 [1].) The petition seeks that an administrator be appointed who is authorized "to demand, collect and receive the rents from the tenants”. (RPAPL 778 [1].) The administrator "is authorized and empowered in accordance with the direction of the court, to order the necessary materials, labor and services to remove or remedy the conditions specified in the judgment, and to make disbursements in payment thereof’. (RPAPL 778 [1]; Matter of Levine v State Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal, 126 Misc 2d 531, 534 [Sup Ct, NY County 1984].) "The substance of these provisions is to put the administrator in the position of an owner for some purposes. That is, the administrator takes the rents which are collected and uses them to do the repairs which the owner has neglected or refused to do. The administrator does not, however, fully stand in the shoes of the owner.” (Lawrence v Martin, 131 Misc 2d 256, 258 [Civ Ct 1986].)

[147]*147In the Shihab case the proceeding was commenced by a number of the tenants at 215-17 West 108th Street. The respondent owners have answered and the matter is awaiting trial. DHPD has been joined as a party respondent. At the commencement of the proceeding the petitioners filed a notice of pendency to be indexed against the property. The respondent owners have moved to cancel the notice of pendency on the ground that CPLR 6501 does not authorize the filing of a notice of pendency in a proceeding under RPAPL article 7-A.

The Gomez case was originally commenced as an article 7-A proceeding by the Commissioner of DHPD. A notice of pendency was filed. Thereafter, the tenants were substituted as the petitioners. (See, RPAPL 770.) The matter proceeded to trial. After trial, the court granted judgment for the respondent owner on various grounds and awarded substantial abatements in the companion nonpayment proceedings which had been tried together. The owner, which has allegedly entered into a contract to sell the property, has moved for a cancellation of the notice of pendency. DHPD, which had not taken an active role in the trial, opposes the motion since it may appeal from the judgment of dismissal.

DISCUSSION

The threshold consideration in both cases is whether CPLR 6501 is applicable. That statute limits a notice of pendency to cases where "the judgment demanded would affect the title to, or the possession, use or enjoyment of, real property.”

The Court of Appeals has recently analyzed the historical role of a notice of pendency and its common-law antecedent, the lis pendens. (See, 5303 Realty Corp. v O & Y Equity Corp., 64 NY2d 313 [1984].) The court (p 320) noted its concern that "the statutory scheme permits a party to effectively retard the alienability of real property without any prior judicial review.” That is, if the proceeding is one which comes within the statute, the proceeding is brought in good faith, and the procedural steps have been strictly followed, "there is little a court may do to provide relief to the property owner.” (64 NY2d, at p 320.) The court must look solely at the allegations in the complaint or petition and may not determine the likelihood of success.

Accordingly, well-established policy considerations "mandate a narrow interpretation in reviewing whether an action is one affecting 'the title to, or the possession, use or enjoy[148]*148ment of, real property’ (CPLR 6501).” (5303 Realty Corp. v O & Y Equity Corp., 64 NY2d 313, 321, supra.) The "narrow interpretation” has apparently never been applied to a proceeding under RPAPL article 7-A.

The basic rule that the courts have applied is whether the pleading on its face directly affects the necessary interest in the land. There are numerous cases finding the notice of pendency improperly filed because the relationship of the action to the realty was only indirect. See, e.g., 5303 Realty Corp. v O & Y Equity Corp. (supra), where the court found that a contract to sell all the shares of stock in a corporation whose only asset was a parcel of land was not one directly affecting the realty; Braunston v Anchorage Woods (10 NY2d 302), where the court found an action for the nuisance of dumping surface water was to recover for a tort and not a claim of title.

The closest analogies in the reported cases to the situation under article 7-A is where an accounting and a receiver are sought. For example, in Kunz v Bachman (61 How Prac 519, 521 [Gen Term, 1st Dept 1881]) the court found a notice of pendency to be appropriate where plaintiff sought "a share of the rents, issues and profits” of a portion of certain property. In Keating v Hammerstein (196 App Div 18 [1st Dept 1921]) the court allowed a notice of pendency where the action sought an accounting for rents and the impression of a trust on the realty. On the other hand, where the action sought damages and "[t]he prayer for a receiver is merely incidental to the main relief’ a notice of pendency was not allowed to stand. (Jones v Armenia Ins. Co., 136 App Div 453, 456 [1st Dept 1910].)

In the instant cases there is no question but that an administrator pursuant to article 7-A affects the "possession, use or enjoyment” of the property. As noted above, the administrator alone is allowed to collect the rents. That surely is an ingredient in the "use or enjoyment” of the land. Similarly, the administrator’s rights to rent the property for substantial terms of years surely affects a right to "possession” of the property. The obligation of the administrator to do repairs is yet anther right of "possession, use or enjoyment” sufficient to come within CPLR 6501.

Sound policy reasons support the use of a notice of pendency in article 7-A proceedings. The legislative framework of article 7-A suggests that the rights involved affect all of those [149]*149with a potential interest in the land. The petitioner is required to give notice to all mortgagees and lienholders of record; mortgagees are given the right to apply under RPAPL 777 for an order to allow them to protect their equity by posting a bond and performing the repairs themselves. Further, in light of the substantial deprivation of the owner’s rights to use the property to its own purposes if an administrator is appointed, it is only reasonable that all persons purchasing the property be on notice of the possibility that they will not be able to fully enjoy a purchase.

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Bluebook (online)
133 Misc. 2d 145, 506 N.Y.S.2d 651, 1986 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 2985, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shihab-v-215-217-west-108th-street-associates-nycivct-1986.