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2005 NY Slip Op 25387

Citation
2005 NY Slip Op 25387
Jurisdiction
New York (state)
Source verification
cross_accepted_sealed

Full Text

1,347 chars
Second, as to being forthcoming in response to inquiries about the security deposit, any failure to provide complete information on account maintenance supports an inference of commingling (Garfield v Howard, 2002 NY Slip Op 40422[U], *2 [App Term, 2d & 11th Jud Dists 2002] ["In view of defendants' failure to respond to plaintiffs' assertion that they had commingled plaintiffs' security deposit with their personal funds and of their failure to notify . . . as required by section 7-103(2) of the General Obligations Law, an inference of commingling arose which defendants failed to rebut, entitling plaintiffs to summary judgment for the return of their security deposit"]). Indeed, a landlord is best advised to give a complete historical account of the manner in which the funds were treated and the account was maintained if the landlord wishes to defeat a summary judgment motion claiming conversion of a security deposit (LeRoy v Sayers, supra, 217 AD2d at 68 ["In opposing plaintiff's motion on this point defendant has asserted that the funds were deposited in a 'special [bank] account, which I maintain exclusively for the . . . property.' This, of course, is not to say that the account did not also contain nontrust funds. Nor does the statement inform us as to how defendant made use of the account during the period in issue"]).