the facts upon which the special proceeding is based’’ (RPAPL
741 [4]). Following the promulgation of GCEL, a petition must
also annex a notice in the form established by Real Property
Law § 231-c (RPAPL 741 [5-a]; Real Property Law § 231-c [1]).
As an initial matter, it is clear that the GCEL rider included
by petitioner with the petition and its other attachments satis-
fied the requirements of RPAPL 741 (5-a). To the extent that
respondent argues that the fact that this document was filed
on NYSCEF as part of a single PDF with the notice of petition,
rather than with the petition, renders the petition defective
(see Phillips affirmation, NYSCEF Doc No. 11 ¶¶ 63-65), the
court disagrees. The GCEL rider was included among the
RP WIMBLEDON, LLC v CHISHOLM [86 Misc 3d 1075] 1081
papers served with the petition, and it contained the language
required by the applicable statutes.
But there remains the question of whether the GCEL rider,
the notice of nonrenewal, and the statement of the lump sum
of rental arrears, taken together, satisfy the requirement of
section 741 (4) that the petition state the facts upon which the
proceeding is based regarding respondent’s nonpayment. The
court concludes that they do not.
The pleading requirements in section 741 serve to inform a
respondent ‘‘of the factual and legal claims that he or she will
have to meet’’ and enable the tenant ‘‘to interpose whatever de-
fenses are available’’ (MSG Pomp Corp. v Doe, 185 AD2d 798,
800 [1st Dept 1992]). Where a petition in a proceeding
predicated upon nonpayment merely states a total sum of rent
arrears without specifying ‘‘the underlying facts upon which
th[e] conclusion is based,’’ it does not meet the requirements of
section 741 (Goldman Bros. v Forester, 62 Misc 2d 812, 814