City of New York v. Utsey
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Term
185 Misc. 2d 715 (2000)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
Thelma Utsey (defendant), along with her three children and a grandchild, occupied as squatters a house in Brooklyn. Their occupancy began in July 1988, and the house was owned by the City of New York (the city) (plaintiff). Utsey cleaned and repaired the property and provided the city with receipts for the repairs. Utsey said that she was interested in working with the city to purchase the property from it. The city commenced a squatter proceeding in August 1997 after serving Utsey with a 10-day notice to vacate the premises. Utsey contended that she became a tenant due to the city’s years-long tolerance of her occupancy and that this entitled her to a 30-day notice to vacate. The city moved for summary judgment, claiming that it had allowed Utsey to remain in the property because it did not have funding to rehabilitate the house. The housing court granted the city’s motion for summary judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Aronin, J.)
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