Opinion
August 26, 1993
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Shirley Fingerhood, J.).
The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to entertain this action to recover rent overcharges, as we held on a prior appeal herein ( 182 A.D.2d 533), and properly awarded treble damages, as to 19 months of overcharges, upon defendants' failure to meet their burden of disproving willfulness (Smitten v 56 MacDougal St. Co., 167 A.D.2d 205). However, the IAS Court erred in imposing what it denominated punitive damages of $5,000 for rent overcharges occurring during a five-month period more than two years before the complaint was filed. New York City Rent Stabilization Law (Administrative Code of City of NY, tit 26, ch 4) § 26-516 (a) provides that an owner of rent stabilized housing accommodations who charges more than the authorized rent "shall be liable to the tenant for a penalty equal to three times the amount of such overcharge." Section 26-516 (a) (2) (i) provides: "No penalty of three times the overcharge may be based upon an overcharge having occurred more than two years before the complaint is filed" (see also, Rent Stabilization Code [9 NYCRR] § 2526.1 [a] [2] [i]). Inasmuch as the Legislature has prescribed both the measure of damages and a period of limitations with respect to damages for rent overcharges, the imposition of punitive damages based on rent overcharges that occurred outside the limitation period was improper and cannot be permitted to stand.
Concur — Carro, J.P., Ellerin, Rubin and Nardelli, JJ.