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Reentry Resource Center - New York

Serving People from Arrest to Reintegration

[Tri Cruger Realty, LLC. v. Masterson] Court Decision on De Minimis Breach of Bawdy House Exclusion Stipulation (2010)

  • Organization: The Bronx Defenders
  • Document Type: Case law/admin decisions
  • Date Created: Thursday, September 16, 2010
  • Submitted: Thursday, September 16, 2010
  • Attachment(s): HTM

In this post-hearing decision won by The Bronx Defenders, Judge McClanahan in the Bronx articulated the standards for de minimis breach of a stipulation and affirmed the court's ability to relieve a tenant of unduly harsh consequences. The issue before the court was whether a 66-year old rent controlled tenant and life-long resident of the same apartment should be evicted under a stipulation of settlement agreeing to the permanent exclusion of her long term partner. The landlord restored the proceeding to the court's calendar, seeking a warrant of eviction after the excluded household member allegedly returned to the premises a number of times.

In making his determination, Judge McClanahan looked to the duration of the tenancy, the education level of the litigant, and the harm to the petitioner. In doing so, Judge McClanahan articulated the standard for material or de minimis breach, and reaffirmed the court's discretion to relieve a party of an unduly harsh outcome.

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