M-Raj Springs St. LLC v Karamahmutoglu

[*1] M-Raj Springs St. LLC v Karamahmutoglu 2010 NY Slip Op 50513(U) [27 Misc 3d 126(A)] Decided on March 29, 2010 Appellate Term, First Department Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

Decided on March 29, 2010
APPELLATE TERM OF THE SUPREME COURT, FIRST DEPARTMENT
PRESENT: McKeon, P.J., Shulman, Hunter, JJ
570606/09.

M-Raj Springs Street LLC, Petitioner-Landlord-Respondent,

against

Hakan Karamahmutoglu, Respondent-Tenant-Appellant, -and- "John Doe" and/or "Jane Doe," Respondents.

Tenant appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Jose A. Padilla, Jr., J.), dated August 4, 2009, which denied his motion to vacate a default final judgment in a holdover summary proceeding.

Per Curiam.
Order (Jose A. Padilla, Jr., J.), dated August 4, 2009, affirmed, with $10 costs.

Civil Court providently exercised its discretion in denying tenant's motion to vacate the default judgment. Even assuming that tenant's counsel's representations concerning purported scheduling conflicts in connection with other matters sufficed to show a reasonable excuse for tenant's trial default herein (cf. Watson v New York City Tr. Auth., 38 AD3d 532 [2007]), tenant failed to demonstrate a cognizable possessory interest in the subject commercial premises or otherwise establish a meritorious defense to the holdover petition. As the court (Engoron, J.) properly determined in a prior (unappealed) order denying tenant's motion to dismiss the petition, the 30-day notice of termination utilized by landlord was sufficient to serve as a predicate for its eviction claim.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
Decision Date: March 29, 2010