NYC Non-Profit Law Firm Helps Illegally Booted Tenant Recover Possession Of Rented Apartment Due To New Landlord's Failure To Give Proper Notice After Purchasing Foreclosed Property

In Flushing, Queens, the New York Law Journal reports:

• A Queens judge said a tenant who was evicted without proper notice can return to her apartment.
  
  Housing Court Judge Jose Rodriguez said in his April 15 decision, Sun v. Capies, 73891/15, that Brittany Capies could be restored to possession forthwith.
  
  Yun Zhong Sun became the owner of the Flushing building in July 2015, after the previous owner had been foreclosed upon.
  
  In August, Sun served Capies with a 10-day notice to terminate the lease and then served her with a holdover petition the following month. According to the petition, Capies was a tenant subject to an oral agreement.
  
  Capies failed to appear and Sun was awarded a judgment of possession. The eviction warrant was stayed twice before she was evicted.
  
  Capies then found representation through Queens Legal Services.(1)
  
  Moving to vacate or modify the decisions, Capies, through counsel, said Sun did not serve a 90-day notice after the foreclosure, as required by Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (RPAPL) §1305.
  
  Sun did not dispute failing to provide the written 90-day notice but argued that Capies' failure to appear and submit an answer made it too late for her to assert a notice defense.
  
  Rodriguez was not swayed. "In the instant proceeding respondents meet the definition of tenants as defined by RPAPL §1305," he said. "It is clear and undisputed that petitioner failed to comply with the notice requirements contained in RPAPL §1305."
  
  Leah Pappas of Pappas & Pappas in Queens represented Sun.
  
  Robert Sanderman, a staff attorney in the housing rights unit at Queens Legal Services, represented Capies.

Source: Absence of Notice Cited in Eviction Reversal Ruling (may require paid subscription; if no subscription, TRY HERE, then click the appropriate link).

For the ruling, see  Sun v. Capies, Index No. 73891/15 (NYC Civ. Ct. Queens County, April 15, 2016).

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(1) Queens Legal Services is a non-profit law firm in Jamaica, New York providing civil legal services, social work support and advocacy to low-income communities throughout Queens County, NY.