Firm News
Governor Cuomo Extends Response Window for Tenants
Governor Cuomo signed a new order on November 3rd creating a 60-day window for tenants to answer eviction filings to avoid default judgements. Of more than 17,000 residential nonpayment cases filed since June 22, 15% of tenants had answered as of October 29. The...
Tenant Attorneys Fear Default Judgments
The latest executive order pausing default judgments is set to lift on November 4th, and tenant attorneys fear that nearly 15,000 cases will be lost by default. Concerned that the courts have not appropriately warned tenants about default judgments, they are calling...
Governor Cuomo’s New “Half-Measure” Just Pushes NY Housing Closer to the Breaking Point
Governor Cuomo signed a new executive order on Tuesday broadening the scope of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act, a bill allowing tenants to use financial hardship brought on by COVID-19 as a legal defense in some eviction proceedings. Tenant attorneys expressed frustration...
NY Courts Say They Won’t Expand Eviction Bans
New York's Office of Court Administration effectively extended New York eviction bans, set to expire on June 20, through September. Now, however, they say that they will not continue to extend the holds on evictions. Despite the Court calling on the other two branches...
KMWB Partner Quoted in Attempt for City Officials to Consider Landlord’s Interests
As the statewide eviction moratorium ends August 5th, fears are mounting about whether New York City is set to "go over a cliff" with housing. While advocates and elected officials have called for stronger relief measures for tenants, like cancelling rent, KMWB's...
Court Grants Summary Judgment Against Commercial Tenant for $2.2 Million and Rejects Tenant’s Defense that it Surrendered and Terminated the Lease
KMWB’s Catherine Helwig successfully cross-moved for summary judgment on a tenant’s breach of a commercial lease and the Hon. Nancy Bannon awarded the landlord damages in the sum of $2.2 million dollars based on a rent acceleration clause in the lease. The Judge...
Judge Rejects Guarantor’s Forgery Claim and Enters Summary Judgment in Favor of Landlord
Nicholas Yokos and Craig Gambardella represented a Landlord in a plenary action in Supreme Court, Kings County to enforce a personal guaranty under a commercial lease, moving for summary judgment in lieu of complaint. In opposition to the Landlord’s motion, the...
New York Judge Issues Bewildering Directive
Last Thursday, Judge Lawrence Marks issued a memo laying out the steps for filing new evictions electronically or by mail. Unfortunately, the system is not yet operational. The memo states that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's previous blanket eviction moratorium would remain in...
Expect Slow Start and Continued Confusion for New Eviction Cases
The Courts begin accepting new eviction cases on June 22, but don't expect to cross the finish line any time soon. While attorneys will be able to file cases for the first time since March, they are limited to in-person filings with only five people at the clerks'...