EB Bedford, LLC v. Lee
| Decision Date | 24 May 2019 |
| Docket Number | 2017-1293 K C |
| Parties | EB BEDFORD, LLC, Brooklyn Four Roses, LLC, Halperne, LLC and LFJB Realty, LLC, Respondents, v. Dorothy LEE, Appellant, Samarr Lee, "John Doe" and "Jane Doe," Occupants. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Term |
64 Misc.3d 39
101 N.Y.S.3d 552
EB BEDFORD, LLC, Brooklyn Four Roses, LLC, Halperne, LLC and LFJB Realty, LLC, Respondents,
v.
Dorothy LEE, Appellant,
Samarr Lee, "John Doe" and "Jane Doe," Occupants.
2017-1293 K C
Supreme Court, Appellate Term, New York.
Decided on May 24, 2019
Charles H. Small, Esq., for appellant.
Belkin, Burden, Wenig & Goldman, LLP (Magda L. Cruz, Joseph Burden and Christina Simanca-Proctor of counsel), for respondents.
PRESENT: MICHAEL L. PESCE, P.J., THOMAS P. ALIOTTA, DAVID ELLIOT, JJ
ORDERED that the final judgment is reversed, without costs, and the matter is remitted to the Civil Court for a new trial in accordance with this decision and order.
Landlords commenced this licensee summary proceeding (see RPAPL 713[7] ) to recover possession of a rent-stabilized apartment on the ground that occupants' license to reside in the premises had expired upon the death of the tenant of record, Johnsie Lee. Dorothy Lee (occupant), Johnsie Lee's daughter, appeared and asserted her right to succeed to the tenancy (see Rent Stabilization Code [9 NYCRR] [RSC] § 2523.5[b][1] ).
At a nonjury trial, the proof established that occupant had moved into the premises in 1988, where her mother and a sibling already lived. After a series of falls, Johnsie Lee was hospitalized in June 2007, and then was moved to a nursing and rehabilitation center (the center), where she remained until her death on May 7, 2013. While Johnsie Lee was a resident of the center, she continued to pay rent to landlords and signed three two-year renewal leases. Occupant testified that landlords would not accept rent from anyone other than Johnsie Lee and that she had asked her mother to sign the renewal leases so that her mother would have a home to return to when
she was rehabilitated enough to do so. Neither occupant nor Johnsie Lee requested that occupant be added to the lease, but landlords were aware that occupant was living in the premises.
After the trial, the Civil Court awarded landlords a final judgment of possession, finding, based on the Appellate Division, First Department, decision in
Third Lenox Terrace Assoc. v. Edwards , 91 A.D.3d 532, 937 N.Y.S.2d 41 (2012), that occupant had failed to show that she had resided with Johnsie Lee for the two years prior to her mother's permanent departure from the premises in 2013, as the execution of the renewal leases prevented a finding that Johnsie Lee had permanently vacated the apartment any time prior to her death in May 2013.
On this appeal, landlords argue that the Appellate Division, First Department, decision in Third Lenox Terrace Assoc. is squarely on point. In that case, the tenant of record had resided in the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Rochester Genesee Reg'l Transp. Auth. v. Stensrud
...approach using the standard income capitalization formula, i.e., value equals net income divided by a capitalization rate (see 101 N.Y.S.3d 552 Matter of Hempstead Country Club v. Board of Assessors, 112 A.D.3d 123, 136, 974 N.Y.S.2d 98 [2d Dept. 2013] ), and applied factors that, according......
-
Pers Realty LLC v. Granville
...in many cases make it impossible to identify a precise permanent vacatur date'" (Samuel, 69 Misc.3d 126[A], citing EB Bedford, LLC v Lee, 64 Misc.3d 39, 42 [App Term 2d Dept 2019]). In Samuel, the court declined to negatively construe a permanent vacate date against the occupant, even when ......
-
Jeremy Props. LC v. Franklin
...the tenant permanently vacated in 2008, not at the end of the subsequently signed lease renewal. The facts in EB Bedford, LLC v Lee, (64 Misc.3d 39 [App Term 2nd Dept 2019]), which follows Jourdain, are similar to the facts here. In EB Bedford, the tenant of record was hospitalized in 2007 ......
-
Jeremy Props. LC v. Franklin
...the tenant permanently vacated in 2008, not at the end of the subsequently signed lease renewal. The facts in EB Bedford, LLC v Lee, (64 Misc.3d 39 [App Term 2nd Dept 2019]), which follows Jourdain, are similar to the facts here. In EB Bedford, the tenant of record was hospitalized in 2007 ......