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Chama Holding Corp. v. Taylor
Citation: 37 Misc. 3d 70
Court: Appellate Terms of the Supreme Court of New York; September 11, 2012; New York; State Appellate Court
Order dated October 12, 2011, is affirmed with costs of $10. The court finds that the landlord's evidence did not sufficiently demonstrate a pattern of unjustified rent defaults by the tenant that would violate significant tenant obligations under the Rent Stabilization Code (9 NYCRR § 2524.3[a]). Although the tenant had defaults leading to four nonpayment proceedings from October 2007 to June 2010, two of these proceedings stemmed from valid disputes regarding the appropriateness of the rent amount and the presence of rent-impairing conditions in the apartment. Settlements from these disputes resulted in the landlord receiving less rent than initially sought and involved agreements for necessary repairs. The court ruled that the tenant's legitimate claims regarding the disputed rent and habitability issues prevented an eviction for chronic nonpayment, referencing case law (Hudson St. Equities v Circhi). Additionally, the two other nonpayment proceedings that occurred in October 2007 and January 2008 were deemed insufficient to trigger eviction, as they were initiated over three and a half years before the current holdover petition. The court did not consider earlier nonpayment proceedings from 1994 and 1995 due to lack of detailed evidence and also disregarded a purported proceeding from August 2009 due to improper service and lack of prosecution by the landlord. Judges Lowe, Schoenfeld, and Hunter concurred in this decision.