Opinion
2017-982 Q C
12-07-2018
Peter JUNG HO LEE, Appellant, v. GREEN WORLD CLEANERS 1, LLC, and Matt Fania, Respondents, et al., Tenants.
Law Office of Michael Mantell (Michael Mantell, New York, of counsel), for appellant. Law Offices of Fred L. Seeman (Peter Kirwin, New York, of counsel), for respondents.
Law Office of Michael Mantell (Michael Mantell, New York, of counsel), for appellant.
Law Offices of Fred L. Seeman (Peter Kirwin, New York, of counsel), for respondents.
PRESENT: : MICHELLE WESTON, J.P., MICHAEL L. PESCE, BERNICE D. SIEGAL, JJ
ORDERED that the orders, insofar as appealed from, are affirmed, without costs.
In this commercial nonpayment proceeding, Green World Cleaners 1, LLC and Matt Fania (tenants) and landlord, entered into a so-ordered stipulation of settlement which provided for, among other things, the entry of a final judgment of possession in favor of landlord, with the execution of the warrant stayed through August 30, 2016 subject to the terms of the stipulation, in return for which tenants agreed to pay the outstanding amounts due for water bills and to "leave the premises vacant and broom clean including removal of all equipment." A final judgment was entered pursuant to the stipulation on August 9, 2016. After tenants vacated the premises, landlord moved, in effect, to amend the final judgment to include a monetary award for allegedly unpaid water bills and for damages arising from tenants' alleged failure to leave the premises "vacant and broom clean" when they surrendered the premises, as well as for attorney's fees. Landlord appeals from so much of an order of the Civil Court entered February 7, 2017 as denied landlord's motion based on the insufficiency of landlord's papers and from so much of a subsequent order of that court entered August 28, 2017 as denied landlord's motion for leave to renew the prior motion.
We affirm, albeit on a ground other than that relied upon by the Civil Court. The summary proceeding had terminated and was no longer pending following the entry of the final judgment of possession in favor of landlord and tenants' subsequent removal from the premises (see Whitmarsh v. Farnell , 298 NY 336 [1949] ; Matter of Sweet v. Sanella , 46 AD2d 688, 689 [1974] ). Once the proceeding terminated, the Civil Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain landlord's motion to, in effect, to amend the final judgment to include a monetary award for damage to the premises and for unpaid water bills, notwithstanding the attempt in the stipulation to reserve landlord's right to so move (see 1472 Props., LLC v. Solanki , 52 Misc 3d 139[A], 2016 NY Slip Op 51127[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2016]; 1250, LLC v. Augustin , 52 Misc 3d 135[A], 2016 NY Slip Op 51035[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2016]; cf. Teitelbaum Holdings v. Gold , 48 NY2d 51, 56 [1979] ).
Accordingly, the orders, insofar as appealed from, are affirmed.
WESTON, J.P., PESCE and SIEGAL, JJ., concur.