Holdover Suit Dismissed After Landlord Fails to Explain Respondent’s Status

After a NYC landlord sought to evict a tenant, MFY attorney Brian Sullivan convinced the court to dismiss the case based on the landlord’s failure to explain why it did not know the legal status of the persons occupying the apartment.  The landlord claimed in its Notice of Termination that the respondents were “trespassers/squatters and/or unauthorized occupants.”  The decision held that if a landlord pleads such alternative theories, it must provide factual details explaining why it is doing so.  Moreover, if the landlord claims that it does not know the respondents’ legal status, it must explain the reasons for the lack of knowledge.  The New York Law Journal reported the decision.