Client Story #1
Getting a Dismissal Before Trial

A young man lived in the lower east side with a terminally ill tenant. He could have asserted succession rights to the apartment, but ultimately decided to leave. The only request the man had was that he wanted time to find another apartment, and was willing to make a reasonable settlement and pay the rent. Unfortunately the landlord refused to negotiate and quickly commenced an eviction proceeding in housing court.

Approach

We prepared to fight for the tenant’s rights to the apartment, but it turned out not to be necessary, because the landlord committed a procedural mistake. When the landlord mailed the notice to quit, the landlord’s process server made two visits to the apartment, trying to hand deliver the notice. The first visit was at 6 p.m., and the second visit was the next day at 8 p.m. On both visits, the process server failed to hand deliver the papers.

We moved to dismiss the landlord’s case, because the law requires that the process server should have made one visit during working hours, and one visit outside of working hours. At any rate, it turned out that the occupant did not receive the papers at all, in violation of his rights.

Result

Once it realized it’s error, the landlord voluntarily withdrew the case after the motion to dismiss was filed, knowing that it had been beat.

The landlord’s earlier recalcitrance worked against him. When the landlord re-commenced the action, months had already passed, and the landlord was forced to accept the same offer to move out, but months later.