On May 17, 2006 , we reported on Ms. Eva Schlesinger's travails. In our piece entitled, " All About Eva ," we recounted the story of a "near octogenarian" who was found to be a "nuisance" due to an "escalating pattern" of disruptive conduct.
Ms. Schlesinger would reportedly bang on her apartment's ceiling throughout the night and yell epithets at those living directly overhead. The New York County Civil Court found Ms. Schlesinger's behavior to be "vicious" and "vitriol[ic]" and ordered her eviction.
On appeal, the Appellate Term, First Department, affirmed. But, as a result of a dissent filed by Judge Phyllis Gangel-Jacob, the matter was given further review by the Appellate Division, First Department.
Although the dissenter believed that the appointment of a guardian was warranted, since the record suggested the tenant lacked the legal capacity to appreciate the ramifications of her conduct, the AD1 was completely unreceptive to that analysis.
In a decision dated March 29, 2007, the AD1 skirted the tenant's mental condition and some obvious irregularities with the landlord's case and agreed with both the Civil Court and the Appellate Term that an eviction was the appropriate outcome. Here is what the AD1 concluded:
A fair interpretation of the evidence supports Civil Court's findings, largely based on witness credibility, that tenant persistently "inflict[ed] vicious retribution" against the overhead tenants for "the slightest infraction of her rules" against noise by "screaming and pounding [the ceiling] throughout the night," interfering substantially with the overhead tenants' comfort, safety and ordinary use and enjoyment of their apartment ....
While we certainly do not condone the tenant's conduct, we fail to see how condemning a mentally challenged senior to a life of homelessness achieved a fair and just result.
For a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Pinehurst Constr. Corp. v Schlesinger
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For additional blog posts on this topic, please use this link: Nuisance