Opinion
570786/07.
Decided on March 14, 2008.
Landlord appeals from a final judgment of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Ernest J. Cavallo, J.), entered on or about December 5, 2005, after a nonjury trial, which dismissed the petition in a holdover summary proceeding.
PRESENT: DAVIS, J.P., SCHOENFELD, HEITLER, JJ.
Final judgment (Ernest J. Cavallo, J.), entered on or about December 5, 2005, affirmed, with $25 costs.
The trial court's determination that respondent Volpe, the granddaughter of the deceased rent controlled tenant, met her affirmative obligation to establish succession rights to the rent controlled tenancy ( 9 NYCRR § 2204.6[d]) represents a fair interpretation of the evidence, and is not disturbed. The record shows that respondent moved into the apartment in order to care for her infirm grandfather in 2001 and resided there as a primary resident for the requisite two-year period immediately prior to her grandfather's death in July 2004. The trial court was warranted in accepting the testimony of respondent's witnesses, specifically noting landlord's failure "to call any witnesses on rebuttal or otherwise demonstrate that [respondent] resided somewhere other than the apartment with her grandfather. . . ." The limited documentary evidence presented by landlord does not, in these circumstances, preponderate over the plausible and fully credited testimonial evidence ( see 23 Jones St. Assoc. v Keebler-Beretta, 284 AD2d 109).