Alexander Etkin

The plaintiffs (landlords) were entirely successful in a landlord and tenant dispute against the defendants, who had failed to pay rent for three years and gamed the system by fabricating a tenancy for an unidentified spouse.

The court awarded the plaintiffs costs of $45,842.95 on a substantial indemnity basis.

Furthermore, the court found that the defendants' lawyer had allowed his client to abuse the administration of justice and ordered the lawyer to personally pay the costs if the defendants failed to do so within thirty days.

The plaintiff landlords brought a motion for default judgment against the defendant tenant corporation and its principal for over $300,000 in rent arrears and possession of the residential premises.

The defendants brought a cross-motion to set aside their noting in default.

The court found the defendants had engaged in a bad faith campaign to game the system, occupying the premises rent-free for three years while illegally using it for business purposes.

The court dismissed the motion to set aside the noting in default, pierced the corporate veil to hold the principal jointly and severally liable, granted default judgment for the rent arrears, awarded $100,000 in punitive damages, and ordered immediate eviction.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for default judgment in a landlord and tenant dispute involving approximately $300,000 in rent arrears.

The defendants resisted and moved to set aside the noting of default.

On the day of the hearing, the parties presented a proposed consent order to terminate the tenancy and grant a writ of possession.

The court declined to issue the order because it mistakenly stated that one of the defendants had been noted in default, failed to properly identify that defendant, and did not address an outstanding counterclaim.

The motion was adjourned to allow the parties to either argue the motion on its merits or resolve the issues.