Appeal by tenant Carlos Farfan from an order of the Civil Court, Kings County (O. Chin, J.), entered on April 9, 2003, which denied his motion to vacate a final judgment of possession and warrant of eviction.

Order unanimously reversed without costs and matter remanded for a determination de novo in accordance with the following memorandum.

In this nonpayment proceeding involving a tenant of 20 years, the parties, on January 28, 2003, entered into a stipulation in which tenant acknowledged owing
$2,539.50 and agreed to make eight payments of $507.90 each, including current rent, on specified dates between January 31, 2003 and April 28, 2003. A final judgment was entered pursuant to the stipulation. Tenant's subsequent motion seeking relief from the final judgment and warrant, based on a claim, inter alia, of partial or full payment, was denied by the lower court on the ground that tenant had failed to establish that he made the required payments. [*2]

On this appeal, tenant argues that the court below erred, and he submits documentary proof, dehors the record, tending to prove that he made all or most of the payments in question and that he is up to date in his rent.

In the interest of justice, the lower court's order is reversed and the matter is remanded for the court below to determine whether tenant was in substantial compliance with the stipulation (e.g. Strassman v Estate of Eggena, 151 Misc 2d 638 [1992]; see also Malvin v Schwartz, 65 AD2d 769 [1978], affd 48 NY2d 693 [1979]) and whether there exists other good cause to vacate the warrant.
Decision Date: June 30, 2004