Some of Our Cases

Here are a few cases handled by Bob and Robin in their legal careers:

318 East 93, LLC v. Ward, 276 AD2d 277 (2000)
Successfully defended, in Civil Court and in two appeals, a senior citizen from eviction based upon the claim that her apartment was so messy that she could not possibly live there.

Grassini v. Paravalos, 270 AD2d 52
Successfully asserted, in Supreme Court and on appeal, a tenant’s claim to rent stabilized status.

Stowe v. 19 East 88th Street, Inc., 257 AD2d 355
Prevailed against a cooperative corporation that was refusing to permit the transfer of an apartment to the next of kin of a deceased shareholder.

77 Avenue D Associates, Inc. v. DHCR, 249 AD2d 113
In this Article 78 proceeding brought by a landlord, we intervened on behalf of the tenants to have a rent overcharge award by the DHCR sustained.

Hudson v. Benoit, 226 AD2d 196
Defended an appeal by a landlord after having the landlord’s eviction case thrown out of the Civil Court.

227 East 57th Street Associates v. DHCR and Beardsall, 214 AD2d 327
Successfully intervened in an Article 78 proceeding upholding a rent reduction for a tenant, and defended the landlord’s appeal.

Schanzer v. Vendome, 7 Misc 3d 1018A
In this Civil Court proceeding, we established that it was proper to bring the Department of Buildings into an HP proceeding to have serious DOB violations corrected.

Cassorla v. Foster, 2 Misc2d 65
After winning a long trial where the architect landlord claimed that his building was exempt from rent stabilization because of a “substantial rehabilitation,” we prevailed against the landlord’s appeal.

Lipkis v. Gilmour, 160 Misc 2d 50
After the landlord of a loft building brought a non-payment eviction case, the tenant raised a defense that the landlord had not complied with the loft law. That defense was stricken by the Civil Court, but was reversed, based on Bob’s legal arguments in the Appellate Term.

Various Tenants of 446-448 West 167th Street v. NYC Department of HPD, 153 Misc 2d 221
In a case brought by tenants in a city owned building against the City of New York to obtain repairs, the City was held in contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order requiring those repairs to be done. The City appealed, but lost in the Appellate Term, and the tenants were permitted to go ahead on their claims for damages and legal fees.

Artis v. City of New York, 133 Misc 2d 629
Tenants were successful in having a 7A administrator appointed to run a building that had been mismanaged by the City of New York.

Kace Realty Co. v. Levy, 130 Misc. 2d 858
Successfully defended a non-primary residence case in the Civil Court and on appeal based upon the landlord’s non compliance with the Rent Stabilization Law.

Toribio v. Whiz Realty Corp. 131 Misc 2d 227
After the tenants of a run down building were successful in having a 7A administrator appointed to run the building, a new owner purchased it. That new owner sought to take the building back from the tenants, but was barred from doing so based upon Bob’s demonstration that the new landlord could not show financial ability nor a detailed plan to put the building back into proper repair.

Melevoi v. Yang, 120 Misc 2d 982
Succeeded in having non-payment cases against a group of tenants dismissed because of the landlord’s failure to comply with the rent regulatory laws.

42-44 West 74th Street, LLC v. Savior NewYork Law Journal 9/29/05
We had the landlord’s law firm disqualified because they had represented the tenant in another matter, creating a conflict of interest.

Riverton v. Knibb, NYSlipOp 25552 AT1 12/28/05 xxcite
This decision is available online , and is notable in that it reversed a controversial decision that was the subject of a front page article in the New York Law Journal. The tenant asserted succession rights, claiming that she was living in the apartment with her grandmother at the time of her death. The landlord opposed the succession rights because the tenant had signed her deceased grandmother’s name on a renewal lease. The trial court agreed with the landlord. When the tenant came to our firm, we obtained a reversal in the Appellate Term.