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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Liggett v. Lew Realty LLC, 42 N.Y.3d 415 (2024)

Citation
Liggett v. Lew Realty LLC, 42 N.Y.3d 415 (2024)
Parent Document
Liggett v. Lew Realty LLC, 42 N.Y.3d 415 (2024)
Jurisdiction
New York (state)
Effective Date
2024-06-20

Full Text

1,425 chars
In concluding otherwise, the Appellate Division majority relied on Kent v Bedford Apts. Co., which held that the RSL's prohibition of a waiver of rights did not apply to a plaintiff not yet established as a rent-stabilized tenant (237 AD2d at 140). Kent, however, is inconsistent with our subsequent case law. In Riverside Syndicate, we examined an agreement whereby tenants "waive[d] all right to challenge the legality of the rent" and agreed to pay more than the allowable amount, in exchange for impermissibly retaining a rent-stabilized apartment under circumstances barred by the RSL (10 NY3d at 21). We held the agreement was "on its face" a pact to " 'waive the benefit' of rent stabilization," and "therefore void" (id. at 22). Notably, the tenants in Riverside were not tenants of record, and their settlement, which was so-ordered by the court, resolved a holdover proceeding (id. at 23). We confirmed this point in Jazilek, overturning an Appellate Division decision that relied on Kent and holding that "[a]lthough tenant was not 'of-record' upon entering . . . the so-ordered stipulation violat[ing] the Rent Stabilization Code," nonetheless the agreement was "void as against public policy" (10 NY3d at 944; see also 390 W. End Assoc., 298 AD2d at 14 [enforcing settlements that contravene the RSL "would essentially allow any landlord to evade rent regulations by the mere expedient of a private agreement"]).