Case Type
Overcharge
Housing Type
Rent Stabilized
Court
Appellate Division; First Department
County
New York County (Manhattan)
L&T / Index / Case / Docket / Clerk's Number
160054/23
Slip Opinion Number
2025 NY Slip Op 05659
Petitioner
Wadsworth Associates LLC
Respondent
New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal
Judge
Webber; Kennedy; Mendez; Rodriguez; Higgitt
Decision/Order Date
2025-10-14
Posture
Other
Disposition
Other
Winner
Other
Synopsis
In this Article 78 proceeding; the Appellate Division affirmed a Supreme Court judgment that partially denied and partially granted a landlord's petition challenging a DHCR determination. The court upheld DHCR's finding of a rent overcharge due to the landlord's failure to adequately substantiate individual apartment improvements (IAIs); citing an identity of interest with the contractor and insufficient proof. However; the court affirmed the vacatur of treble damages; finding DHCR's imposition arbitrary and capricious. The court reasoned that DHCR deviated from its own precedent; which generally does not treble damages when claimed improvements are undisputed but costs are not fully established; and failed to articulate another basis for finding willfulness.
Keywords
Article 78; DHCR; Rent Overcharge Found Based on Inadequate Proof of IAIs; Vacatur of Treble Damages; No Evidence of Willfulness
Recommended Citation
"Wadsworth Associates LLC v. New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal" (2025). All Decisions. 1996.
https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/housing_court_all/1996
