Moore v. Chase Manhattan Bank, N. A.
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; July 6, 1995; New York; State Appellate Court
An order from the Supreme Court of New York County, issued by Justice Alice Schlesinger on October 5, 1994, granted the plaintiff's motion to remove and consolidate the summary proceeding titled Chase Manhattan Bank v. Moore (Civ Ct index No. L&T 63958/94) with the action in Supreme Court. This decision was unanimously affirmed, with costs awarded. The court recognized that the tenant's claims for damages due to the landlord's breach of lease, which exceed the unpaid rent cited by the landlord for terminating the lease, could serve as an equitable defense against the holdover proceeding. Additionally, there were common factual issues regarding the landlord's alleged unconscionable conduct that might prevent the landlord from enforcing termination provisions that allow for the conversion of a nonpayment case into a holdover proceeding. Given the overlap of legal and factual issues, the consolidation of the Civil Court action with the Supreme Court action was deemed appropriate. The ruling cited several cases to support these conclusions, reinforcing that the consolidation was justified based on shared legal principles and factual circumstances. The decision was concurred by Justices Sullivan, Rosenberger, Ross, Asch, and Tom.