St. Margaret's House Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. v Hope

[*1] St. Margaret's House Hous. Dev. Fund Corp. v Hope 2010 NY Slip Op 50184(U) [26 Misc 3d 137(A)] Decided on February 4, 2010 Appellate Term, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on February 4, 2010
APPELLATE TERM OF THE SUPREME COURT, FIRST DEPARTMENT
PRESENT: Schoenfeld, J.P., Shulman, Hunter, JJ
570323/09.

St. Margaret's House Housing Development Fund Corporation, Petitioner-Landlord-Respondent,

against

Joshua Hope, Respondent-Tenant-Appellant.

Tenant appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Sabrina B. Kraus, J.), entered March 24, 2009, after a hearing, which granted landlord's motion to execute upon the warrant of eviction in a holdover summary proceeding.

Per Curiam.

Order (Sabrina B. Kraus, J.), entered March 24, 2009, affirmed, without costs.

By a stipulation dated January 11, 2008 the parties settled the underlying holdover summary proceeding based upon objectionable conduct by tenant. The stipulation provided for entry of a final judgment in landlord's favor, with execution upon the warrant of eviction stayed for a two-year probationary period. The stipulation expressly required, among other things, that tenant (1) refrain from "verbally or physically assaulting other persons" or "stalking or otherwise harassing other tenants, staff, vendors or visitors," and (2) "socialize or interact with other persons at the Building in a peaceable manner." The stipulation stated that "[a]ny single default or breach ... shall be deemed a material violation of the Stipulation and shall not be subject to cure." The stipulation enabled landlord, upon an alleged breach of the stipulation, to move to restore the proceeding for a hearing to determine whether tenant did in fact breach the stipulation. If the court determined that tenant breached the stipulation, the court was required to "order immediate execution on the Warrant, and shall permit no opportunity for [tenant] to cure." The stipulation was signed by tenant, both of his attorneys, his guardian ad litem, petitioner and petitioner's counsel, and was so-ordered by the court.

Civil Court, in a comprehensive opinion, granted landlord's subsequent motion to restore the action and execute upon the warrant of eviction, determining that tenant substantially breached the so-ordered stipulation on multiple occasions during the probationary period.

The hearing evidence amply supports the court's determination. The credited testimony of landlord's witnesses established that tenant was confrontational and verbally abusive toward at least one other tenant of the building, as well as two visitors to the building. Additionally, tenant punched a visitor in the face in the building lobby. As to this physical assault, the court expressly discredited tenant's testimony which was contradicted by the testimony of landlord's witnesses as well as other corroborative evidence that he did not hit the individual, but simply knocked [*2]the phone out of her hand. In any event, as Civil Court noted, even if tenant's version of the incident was credited, his behavior still violated the plain terms of the stipulation. Therefore, Civil Court properly granted landlord's motion (see 565 Tenant's Corp. v Adams, 54 AD3d 602 [2008]; Hotel Cameron, Inc. v Purcell, 35 AD3d 153 [2006]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
Decision Date: February 04, 2010