right of forfeiture elects to terminate it. Possession can only be accomplished by a
plenary action for ejectment." (South Street Seaport Ltd. Partnership v Jade Sea
Restaurant, Inc., 151 Misc 2d 725, 726 [Civ Ct, NY County 1991].) For there to be a
conditional limitation, on the other hand, the lease must "state clearly that it will expire
upon the happening of some objective event." (Gouveneur Gardens Hous. Corp. v Lee, 2 Misc 3d 525, 528
[Civ Ct, NY County 2003].) Once the triggering event occurs, "the agreement
automatically expires; no other act is necessary to end it." (Id.)
Here, the lease provides that if tenant defaults, and the lessor gives the tenant a
notice stating that the lease will expire at least 10 days thereafter, then the lease will
expire on the date set in the notice. (NYSCEF No. 21 at 19 [lease].) Plaintiff notified
defendant of its default in October 2021. (See NYSCEF No. 30 [notice of
default].) Plaintiff sent defendant a notice of termination on March 11, 2022, stating that
because tenant had not cured its default, its lease would expire on March 25, 2022.
(See NYSCEF No. 32 at 2 [notice of termination].) The lease provision thus
contains "a conditional limitation; its language clearly provides that, if a notice of default
were sent, the lease would automatically expire on the termination date fixed in the
notice." (Matter of Ranalli v Burns, 157 AD2d 936, 937 [3d Dept 1990].) As a
result, plaintiff is [*3]not bound to terminate the lease
through a plenary action.
Defendant claims that notwithstanding the language of the lease, it must be
construed as creating a condition subsequent, because conditional limitations may not be
employed in residential leases. But both the holdings and reasoning of the line of