Glambosky and Honig Defeat a Claim of Unlawful Eviction on Behalf of Naftali Group
August 26, 2015 |Erez Glambosky and Jeremy Honig obtained an important victory on behalf of landlord/developer, the Naftali Group, by successfully moving to dismiss an order to show cause by a Petitioner who sought injunctive relief related to an alleged “illegal lockout”.
The Petitioner, the wife of a well-known writer for the New York Post (the author of the famous headline: “Headless Body in Topless Bar”) alleged that she was entitled to possession of the subject rent-stabilized Apartment, where her husband had resided since 1978, following her husband’s death even though she had not resided in the Apartment for more than 30 years. Petitioner commenced the action by way of a Petition and Order to Show Cause for injunctive relief when the landlord changed the locks to the Apartment following Petitioner’s husband’s death. Petitioner claimed that she was entitled to possession of the Apartment, and that the Landlord had no right to change the locks, since she had “moved in” during the previous month to take care of her ailing husband. Glambosky and Honig, on behalf of the Landlord, argued, among other things, that Petitioner had no right to possess the Apartment since she had not established that she was either a tenant of record or that she had resided in the Apartment for the past 30 years.
After a lengthy oral argument, the Honorable Justice Arlene H. Hahn of the Civil Court, New York County granted Landlord’s motion to dismiss the Petition and Order to Show Cause since the Landlord established that: (a) Petitioner was a permanent resident of Woodstock, New York for at least the past 20 years; (b) Petitioner had not been a tenant of record, nor resided in, the subject Apartment for more than 30 years; (c) Petitioner’s husband listed the Petitioner as his “emergency contact”, with a Woodstock, New York address and phone number, in each renewal lease for the past 10 years; and (d) Petitioner’s husband listed a female roommate (not his wife) as the only other occupant in the Apartment since 2007.
This decision is significant as it is extremely rare for a Court to deny a Petitioner’s request for injunctive relief related to an “illegal lockout” without a hearing.
