2505 Bedford Realty Co. v Taitt (2008 NY Slip Op 50747(U))

2505 Bedford Realty Co. v Taitt

2008 NY Slip Op 50747(U) [19 Misc 3d 136(A)]

Decided on April 3, 2008

Appellate Term, Second 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This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

2505 Bedford Realty Company, Respondent,

against

Jessica Taitt, Appellant, -and- JULIE TAITT and CURTIS CUMMINGS, Tenants.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Richard Velasquez, J.), dated April 24, 2007. The order denied a motion by tenant Jessica Taitt seeking, in effect, to open her default in appearing and to restore the matter to the calendar.

In this nonpayment proceeding, tenant Jessica Taitt stipulated, in October 1997, to the entry of a possessory judgment in favor of landlord in the sum of $3,606.20 and
that payment of the judgment amount would be made by December 15, 1997. The parties contemplated that tenant would seek Jiggetts assistance. Payment was not forthcoming, and tenant, after the arrears had mounted to at least $6,631.80, removed from the apartment. In October 2005, tenant moved to lift a restraint on her bank account, vacate an income execution and restore the matter to the calendar. She claimed that her rent was paid by Jiggetts and public assistance. Tenant failed to appear on an adjourned return date of her motion, June 20, 2006, and the case was marked "inquest clerk." Tenant thereafter defaulted in appearing on at least three subsequent court dates after she had obtained orders to show cause seeking to vacate the "inquest [*2]clerk" marking. Finally, in the order appealed from, the court denied tenant's last motion to vacate the "inquest clerk" marking, noting that tenant had defaulted on five occasions, offered no reason for her last default and showed no meritorious defense.

We affirm. Since tenant failed to show either an excuse for her default or a meritorious defense, the Civil Court providently exercised its discretion in denying her motion (CPLR 5015 [a]; see Eugene Di Lorenzo, Inc. v A.C. Dutton Lbr. Co., 67 NY2d 138 [1986]). We note that even if, as tenant alleges, Jiggetts agreed to pay her arrears and thereafter failed to do so, this would not relieve tenant of her liability under the judgment (see Classon Vil. LP v Bethune, 15 Misc 3d 139[A], 2007 NY Slip Op 50995[U] [App Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists 2007]).