Judge Arlene Hahn
In this landlord/tenant action, the court found respondent tenants were entitled to over $49,000 as their reasonable attorney fees. Tenants prevailed in an underlying nonpayment action when the court dismissed that petition for lack of evidence and subsequently awarded tenants damages against landlord for over $24,000 for breach of the warranty of habitability and contempt. The court further directed landlord to correct any remaining code violations, among other things. It noted that while the Appellate Term upheld four of five of landlord’s prior motions, it kept ordering new deadlines which landlord flaunted, yet tenants prevailed and the Appellate Term upheld this court’s attorney fees award. As landlord failed to appeal that decision and its time to do so expired, tenants were the prevailing party, and later moved under Real Property Law §234 for additional attorney fees, which was granted on consent. After a careful review of the appellate process history, the court concluded tenants’ attorney’s work in defending landlord’s appeals were all related to the major issues in the case, serving to advance the case to its ultimate outcome in which tenants prevailed. It also found landlord’s appeals were frivolous from their inception, entitling tenants to additional attorney fees.
