| 190 Claremont Realty, LLC v Ruderman |
| 2013 NY Slip Op 50815(U) [39 Misc 3d 144(A)] |
| Decided on May 21, 2013 |
| Appellate Term, First Department |
| Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. |
| This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports. |
Tenant appeals from a final judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York,
New York County (Sabrina B. Kraus, J.), entered April 6, 2012, after a nonjury trial,
which awarded possession to landlord in a holdover summary proceeding.
Per Curiam.
Final judgment (Sabrina B. Kraus, J.), entered April 6, 2012, affirmed, with $25 costs, for the reasons stated by Sabrina B. Kraus, J. at Civil Court.
We find no cause to disturb the trial court's fact-laden determination that tenant did
not maintain the Manhattan rent stabilized apartment here at issue as his primary
residence, a finding which rested in large measure on the court's negative assessment of
the tenant's credibility ("It is clear," the court stated in its comprehensive decision, "that
[tenant] will testify to any set of facts he believes will result in him getting what he
wants.") The voluminous trial record showed and the court expressly found that tenant
owns a "luxury" cooperative apartment in Riverdale, where he maintains a "regular
presence"; listed the Riverdale address as his residence in documents filed with the
Internal Revenue Service and Surrogate's Court; and spent less than 183 days per
calendar year and used a negligible amount of electricity at the Manhattan apartment
during the relevant time period. Based on the record as a whole and the above-cited
factors in particular (see Rent Stabilization Code [9 NYCRR] § 2520.6[u];
Briar Hill Apts. Co. v Teperman, 165 AD2d 519, 521 [1991]), it cannot be said
that the trial court's finding of nonprimary residence could not have been reached under
any fair interpretation of the evidence (see Claridge Gardens v Menotti, 160
AD2d 544, 544-545 [1990]; compare
409-411 Sixth St., LLC v Mogi, 100 AD3d 112 [2012]).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
Decision Date: May 21, 2013