The Marketplace v. Smith

JOHN G. PERICAK, J. This action was commenced as a summary proceeding pursuant to RPAPL article 7 by a petition to recover possession of real property for nonpayment. The petitioner requested a warrant of eviction and a judgment. The request for a judgment 1st Dept 1981]; Zenila Realty Corp. v Masterandrea, 123 Misc 2d 1 [Civ Ct, NY County 1984].) Allowing a landlord to circumvent the more rigid procedural requirements of a plenary action to collect on what is essentially a contractual claim undermines the legislative intent. Otherwise, a landlord would be able to collect damages having nothing to do with the tenancy, although contractually so defined, in the less intrusive summary proceeding forum. Since these proceedings are statutory, strict compliance with all statutory provisions is demanded. (Zenila Realty Corp. v Masterandrea, supra, at 5.) This court acknowledges that some courts in this State have awarded certain additional costs that the parties to a lease agreement contractually classified as rent. (See, e.g., Hollyrood Park Assocs. v Dingman, 57 AD2d 1053 [4th Dept 1977] [attorney's fees]; Matter of Petrakakis v Crown Hotels, 3 AD2d 635 [3d Dept 1956] [taxes].) Those costs, however, do not possess the same character as accelerated rent—the compensation of a landlord for future damages. (See, Benderson v Poss, supra .) Therefore, in accordance with the requirement of strict compliance with statutory authority (see, Zenila Realty Corp. v Masterandrea, supra), the petitioner's request for a judgment for accelerated rent is denied without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The petitioner's request for a warrant of eviction is granted as is the request for a judgment for unpaid rent due and owing in the amount of $62,618.49 plus costs.