Prevailing Tenant Awarded Legal Fees in Eviction Case
The First Department reversed an Appellate Term ruling Tuesday that would have barred prevailing tenants in eviction cases from recovering attorney fees if the landlord had a "colorable claim."
January 07, 2015 at 05:21 AM
4 minute read
The Appellate Division, First Department, reversed an Appellate Term ruling Tuesday that would have barred prevailing tenants in eviction cases from recovering attorney fees if the landlord had a “colorable claim.”
“A colorable claim standard would result in the gutting of the protections afforded by [Real Property Law §234] because it would allow courts to deny fees whenever the landlord can make a nonfrivolous legal argument in support of its position,” the unanimous panel wrote.
The case, In re 251 CPW Housing LLC v. Yitzhak “James” Pastreich, 570124/12, stemmed from the landlord's 2004 refusal to renew Yitzhak Pastreich's lease on his rent stabilized four-bedroom Central Park West apartment at a reduced rent agreed to in 1991, when he first moved in.
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