Spirer v. Adams

144 Misc. 2d 903, 545 N.Y.S.2d 504, 1989 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 507
CourtCivil Court of the City of New York
DecidedAugust 16, 1989
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 144 Misc. 2d 903 (Spirer v. Adams) 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
Spirer v. Adams, 144 Misc. 2d 903, 545 N.Y.S.2d 504, 1989 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 507 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

Dorothy Chin Brandt, J.

This action involves a dispute between the parties as landlord and tenant, respectively, of a rent-stabilized residential [904]*904apartment premises located in the building known as 860 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York.

Tenant moves by 'order to show cause for this court to vacate and set aside both a judgment in favor of the landlord in this summary nonpayment proceeding granted March 15, 1988, and a warrant of eviction issued (but stayed) thereunder.

The summary nonpayment proceeding was commenced more than two years ago, and the court file indicates that throughout the proceeding the named tenant has been represented by her husband, Steve Mitchell, who resides in the subject apartment with the named tenant and their two children, and who regularly appeared in court and filed most of the papers on behalf of the tenant in this matter.

Although the history of agreements, stipulations, orders, etc., in this action is rich, the sole issue now presented to this court is whether the execution of a renewal lease agreement between the parties at a time when, technically, an appeal by tenant of a Housing Court order of final possession in favor of the landlord could have been perfected, combined with the regular and timely offer and acceptance of rental payments pursuant to the renewal lease agreement, effectively reinstated the landlord-tenant relationship between the parties and thus precludes an order for execution of the warrant of eviction at this time. Each party has submitted memoranda and has orally argued the issue before this court.

A review of the court file indicates that the factual history of this action is as follows:

In 1986, the tenant succeeded in obtaining a rollback of rent pursuant to a district rent administrator order (which order was reversed upon landlord’s subsequent administrative appeal). The tenant alleges that the landlord’s initial action for rent arrears herein flowed from tenant’s reliance upon the administrator’s rollback order and tenant’s resulting expectation or credit for past overpayments of rent.

Tenant’s several applications to the Housing Court for orders to show cause during the years 1987 and 1988 were granted on the various bases offered by the tenant. Pursuant to various stipulations between landlord and tenant, certain rental payments were made by the tenant to the landlord, and execution of a warrant of eviction was stayed and/or vacated accordingly.

A 1987 transfer of ownership of the building premises [905]*905involved seemed to complicate the matter for the parties, but only temporarily.

Tenant’s claims (actually Mr. Mitchell’s claims) of unforeseen business reversals and promisés to pay acknowledged rental arrears resulted in still further stays of execution of a warrant of eviction sought by the landlord and issued by the Housing Court.

On March 15, 1988, the late Honorable Sidney Rosen issued a decision and order denying tenant’s motion to prevent execution of a warrant of eviction based upon tenant’s claim of "good cause shown” (apparently consisting primarily of Mr. Mitchell’s representations, in January 1988, that his business difficulties had cleared up and he was at that time willing and able to pay all rent arrears in full, plus future rental payments for the months of February and March 1988).

Judge Rosen found, simply, that the tenant-businessman-property owner’s repeated past promises to pay rent arrears and his repeated failure to keep those promises due to alleged business difficulties did not constitute sufficient "good cause” as contemplated by the provisions of RPAPL 749 (3) to allow the Housing Court to vacate an issued warrant of eviction prior to its execution. However, Judge Rosen’s decision and order stayed final execution of the warrant of eviction to April 30, 1988, on condition that the tenant pay appropriate use and occupancy for the months of March and April 1988.

On April 19, 1988, tenant filed with the Housing Court a copy of a notice of appeal of Judge Rosen’s March 15, 1988 decision and order, addressed to the Appellate Term, First Department. By motion dated April 22, 1988 addressed to the Appellate Term, tenant requested a stay of the summary proceedings pending the appeal, on the basis that without such a stay the appeal would be rendered moot and the tenant appellant would be subjected to great hardship and irreparable injury because of "unnecessary eviction.”

Tenant’s motion for a stay pending appeal was granted by the Appellate Term on April 29, 1988, on the following three conditions: (1) that tenant pay outstanding arrears to landlord on or before May 9, 1988; (2) that tenant continue to pay use and occupancy at the rate previously payable as rent; and (3) that tenant perfect the appeal by the September 1988 Term.

On May 17, 1988, landlord applied to the Appellate Term for an order vacating the stay and dismissing the appeal, apparently based upon landlord’s alleged difficulty in cashing [906]*906a check delivered by tenant to the landlord on or about May 9, 1988, pursuant to the Appellate Term’s order. The Appellate Term ruled that the landlord’s motion would be granted unless tenant paid outstanding arrears to landlord on or before May 31, 1988. A careful review of the court file and all papers submitted by the parties hereto indicates that the only further action taken regarding the subject apartment in the year 1988 by the landlord was the landlord’s forwarding to the tenant a standard "Renewal Lease Form” dated July 13, 1988, apparently in contemplation of the expiration of the underlying lease term on September 30, 1988.

The lease renewal agreement was duly executed by the tenant on September 26, 1988, and by the landlord on September 30, 1988. Pursuant to the typewritten portions of the renewal lease form forwarded by the landlord to the tenant, the tenant chose the two-year renewal option and thereby accepted the indicated statutory 9% increase in rent.

There is no allegation before this court that the tenant has not paid all alleged rental arrears under its prior rental agreement with the landlord, nor that the tenant has failed to faithfully perform its obligations, including the timely payment of the increased monthly rental installment amounts, pursuant to the provisions of the renewal lease agreement executed by the parties in September of 1988.

As previously noted, the sole issue now before this court is whether the renewal lease agreement, executed by the parties approximately one year ago, effectively reinstated the landlord-tenant relationship that had been previously nullified by the issuance of the warrant of eviction by Judge Rosen in March of 1988 (and not executed to date), thereby precluding the landlord from seeking to execute the warrant at this time.

The tenant’s position (through Mr. Mitchell) is that he abandoned pursuit of his appeal of the March 15, 1988 court order based upon his belief that the issue was rendered moot by the execution of the lease renewal agreement, and that the landlord may not now seek execution of the warrant of eviction issued prior to the execution of the lease renewal, which tenant believes expressly reinstated the tenancy.

On the other hand, the landlord’s position is that he issued and executed the renewal lease herein merely

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
144 Misc. 2d 903, 545 N.Y.S.2d 504, 1989 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 507, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spirer-v-adams-nycivct-1989.