Opinion
570738/07.
Decided March 7, 2008.
Landlord appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Kevin C. McClanahan, J.), dated February 14, 2007, which conditionally granted tenant's motion to the extent of permanently staying execution of a warrant of eviction in a nonpayment summary proceeding.
Order (Kevin C. McClanahan, J.), dated February 14, 2007, reversed, without costs, and tenant's motion denied. Execution of the warrant shall be stayed for 30 days from the service of a copy of this order with notice of entry.
PRESENT: McKeon, P.J., Schoenfeld, Heitler, JJ.
The record shows that tenant, a practicing attorney, consistently and without explanation defaulted under the payment terms of the so-ordered stipulations entered into by the parties in settlement of the within nonpayment "summary" proceeding, originally commenced by landlord in February 2005. The tenant's studied attempts to delay a final resolution of the case were fairly characterized by the motion court as constituting "meritless" conduct, which, we note, allowed tenant to live virtually rent-free for nearly three years of unnecessarily protracted litigation and resulted in the accumulation of almost $10,000 of rent arrears in a garden-variety nonpayment proceeding involving a stabilized leasehold with a reserved rent of $307 per month. In the absence of "good cause shown" (RPAPL § 749), and considering "the extent of the delay and the nature and amount of the payment default(s), as well as a delicate balancing of the equities between the parties" ( Parkchester Apts Co. v Heim, 158 Misc 2d 982, 983-984), no further stay of the execution of the warrant of eviction was warranted. We note that tenant has not submitted a brief on appeal disputing the landlord's recitation of the tortured history of this case.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.