Opinion
2015-1760 K C
12-07-2018
CAMBRIDGE HEIGHTS HDFC, Respondent, v. Mary MCCORMICK, Administrator of the Estates of Pearl Dillard and Carroll H. Dillard, Tenants, and Sadeqwa Davis, Appellant.
Stern & Stern, Esqs. (David Lyle Stern and Martin Druyan of counsel), for appellant. Edward Joseph Filemyr, IV, Esq., for respondent.
Stern & Stern, Esqs. (David Lyle Stern and Martin Druyan of counsel), for appellant.
Edward Joseph Filemyr, IV, Esq., for respondent.
PRESENT: MICHELLE WESTON, J.P., MICHAEL L. PESCE, BERNICE D. SIEGAL, JJ
Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County (Maria Ressos, J.), dated July 9, 2015. The order denied a motion by occupant Sadeqwa Davis to vacate so much of a final judgment of that court entered April 9, 2015 as awarded landlord possession as against her upon her failure to appear or answer the petition, in a nonpayment summary proceeding.
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, without costs.
Landlord, a residential cooperative corporation, commenced this nonpayment summary proceeding against Mary McCormick, as the administrator of the estates of the two deceased shareholders, and against Sadeqwa Davis (occupant), as undertenant. Occupant appeals from an order denying her motion to vacate so much of a final judgment of that court entered April 9, 2015 as awarded landlord possession as against her upon her failure to appear or answer the petition.
A movant seeking to vacate a default judgment based on an excusable default is required to establish both a reasonable excuse for the default and a meritorious defense to the proceeding (see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Eugene Di Lorenzo, Inc. v. A.C. Dutton Lbr. Co. , 67 NY2d 138, 141 [1986] ). Here, occupant's motion was properly denied, as she failed to establish a reasonable excuse for her default. In addition, occupant lacks standing to assert that McCormick either had a reasonable excuse for defaulting or would have had a basis to vacate her default pursuant to CPLR 317 (see Chelsea 139, LLC v. Saunders , 32 Misc 3d 140[A], 2011 NY Slip Op 51572[U] [App Term, 1st Dept 2011] ; Cadman Towers, Inc. v. Barry , 31 Misc 3d 127[A], 2011 NY Slip Op 50452[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2011] ). In any event, the purported defenses that occupant relies upon on appeal, including a claim that landlord breached the warranty of habitability, are not defenses that can be raised by an occupant who is not a party to the lease (see Wright v. Catcendix Corp. , 248 AD2d 186 [1998] ).
Accordingly, the order is affirmed.
WESTON, J.P., PESCE and SIEGAL, JJ., concur.