Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Be Careful What You Stip For: 'Liggett v. Lewitt Realty LLC'

By Ethan R. Cohen
September 01, 2024

In June 2024, the Court of Appeals decided Liggett v. Lewitt Realty LLC, — NY3d –, 2024 NY Slip Op 03378 (2024), reversing the Appellate Division, First Judicial Department, and holding that a so-ordered stipulation of settlement entered into by a landlord and future tenant more than two decades ago, to settle a holdover proceeding in March 2000, was void as against public policy, and therefore could not provide a basis in the 2021 action for the landlord to establish that the subject apartment was properly deregulated from rent stabilization decades earlier. The ruling from New York's highest state court, although straightforward on its face, has important implications for both long-existing settlement agreements and when considering drafting future agreements settling disputes in the context of the Rent Stabilization Law.

The case concerned an apartment that was initially subject to rent control, with Edward Brown listed as the rent-controlled tenant in 1984. When Brown died in 1998, with a monthly rent of just $141.23, the landlord commenced a summary holdover proceeding against the surviving occupant, Edward McKinney, who claimed a right to succeed to Brown's rent-controlled tenancy. Generally, when a rent-controlled tenant dies or the apartment becomes vacant, either a permitted family member succeeds to the rent-controlled tenancy, or the apartment is decontrolled and becomes subject to rent stabilization. In the latter case, the initial rent-stabilized legal regulated rent for the apartment is required to be the first market rent agreed to by the landlord and the tenant in a lease agreement, subject to the tenant's right to file a Fair Market Rent Appeal (FMRA) with the Division of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR) challenging the rent as the actual fair market rent. The right to file a FMRA ensures that the first rent is a fair market rent.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The Bankruptcy Hotline Image

Recent cases of importance to your practice.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

How AI Has Affected PR Image

When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.