Case Type

Non-payment

Housing Type

Rent Stabilized

Court

SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE TERM, FIRST DEPARTMENT

County

New York County (Manhattan)

L&T / Index / Case / Docket / Clerk's Number

571132/23

Slip Opinion Number

2024 NY Slip Op 50052(U)

Petitioner

West Pierre Associates LLC

Respondent

Julia Harvey

Judge

Hagler, P.J., Brigantti, Tisch, JJ.

Decision/Order Date

2024-01-23

Posture

Post-answer Motion by Tenant

Disposition

Judgment for Landlord

Winner

Landlord Substantially Won

Synopsis

Landlord appealed from an order of the Civil Court dismissing tenant's rent overcharge defense and counterclaim in a nonpayment summary proceeding. The Appellate Term affirmed, holding that the HSTPA does not apply retroactively to overcharges alleged to have occurred before its enactment in 2019, and that the pre-HSTPA law's four-year statute of limitations and four-year lookback rule precluded the tenant's claim. Key Legal Points: (1) The HSTPA cannot be applied retroactively to rent overcharges that occurred before its enactment in 2019; (2) The pre-HSTPA law's four-year statute of limitations and four-year lookback rule preclude examination of an apartment's rental history more than four years before the interposition of an overcharge claim, unless the tenant makes a colorable claim of fraud; (3) Landlords can rely on the four-year statute of limitations and four-year lookback rule to defend against rent overcharge claims that are based on events that occurred more than four years before the claim was interposed.

Download

Takedown Policy

Share

COinS