Opinion
571125/02.
Decided April 23, 2004.
Tenant appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County, dated December 2, 2002 (George M. Heymann, J.) which denied his renewed motion to vacate a consent final judgment and warrant of eviction in a summary holdover proceeding based upon chronic nonpayment of rent.
Order dated December 2, 2002 (George M. Heymann, J.) affirmed, without costs.
PRESENT: HON. WILLIAM J. DAVIS, J.P., HON. PHYLLIS GANGEL-JACOB, HON. MARTIN SCHOENFELD, Justices.
Civil Court did not abuse its discretion in denying tenant relief from his immediate default in tendering rent due pursuant to the unambiguous, "time of the essence," payment terms of the parties' settlement stipulation. "Strict enforcement of the parties' stipulation . . . is warranted based upon the principle that the parties to a civil dispute are free to chart their own litigation course" ( Mill Rock Plaza Assocs. v. Lively, 224 AD2d 301), particularly where, as here, the rent delinquencies underlying the landlord's holdover petition continued unabated into the probationary period agreed to by the parties.
This constitutes the decision and order of the court.