Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is co-lead counsel, representing thousands of affected tenants of the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village rental apartment complexes in New York City in Roberts v. Tishman Speyer Properties, L.P., No. 100956/07 (N.Y. Sup. Ct.). Plaintiffs assert that for many years, landlords have illegally charged market rate rents for apartments that should have been rent stabilized under New York City’s Rent Stabilization Law, thereby overcharging each affected tenant thousands of dollars per year. The overcharges are estimated to total hundreds of millions of dollars.
The core legal issue was whether landlords could permissibly deregulate and charge market rents for certain “luxury” apartment units in these complexes in years in which the landlords were simultaneously receiving New York City tax abatements, known as “J-51″ benefits. The Court of Appeals ruled that the New York statutory scheme prevented landlords of rent stabilized buildings from charging market rents while receiving J-51 benefits for as long as they continue to receive those tax benefits.
On October 22, 2009, the firm obtained a landmark ruling in favor of tenants from the New York Court of Appeals. The firm successfully argued that the Court of Appeals should uphold the Appellate Division’s unanimous reinstatement of the complaint, which had been dismissed by the lower court. The decision is reported at 13 N.Y.3d 270 (2010).
For more information please contact Ronald J. Aranoff, Esq. or Christian Siebott, Esq. at (212) 779-1414.
