Joshua Kopelowitz, left, and Michael Lieberman, right, of Fox Rothschild. Courtesy photo Joshua Kopelowitz, left, and Michael Lieberman, right, of Fox Rothschild. Courtesy photo

In a recent decision that promises to make Thanksgiving dinners a lot more awkward for many New York families, the New York City Civil Court, Queens County (Guthrie, J.) held that a landlord may bring a summary holdover proceeding against a tenant, even when that tenant happens to also be the landlord's sibling.

In Persain v. Persane, 77 Misc. 3d 992 (Civ. Ct., Queens Cnty. 2022), the court had occasion to consider the often thorny issue of landlord-tenant law known as the "familial exception" to the maintenance of a summary proceeding against a family member. Before discussing the Persain decision, some background on the familial exception will help set the stage.