Eviction During a Pandemic When Evictions Are Prohibited
When Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client came for help, it was faced with a tenant who had illegally rented his apartment through Airbnb to someone believed to be dealing drugs from the apartment with no intention of ever leaving. Since the tenant of record had returned home to Spain, there was no pressure to apply to the Airbnb tenant and any kind of normal eviction proceeding would have taken most of a year under the current slog in the court systems during pandemic shutdowns. Thus, the matter was kind of desperate for Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s client.
However, since the entire arrangement was illegal from the start, Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C.’s team went to the State Supreme Court to get an injunction against the illegal activity which would have the effect of evicting the illegal sublet without going through a marshal or sheriff to perform an actual eviction.
Convincing the court proved difficult as the judge understood very well that the whole purpose of the case was to get around the governor’s lockdown on all evictions.
However, upon presenting convincing proof to the judge that the occupant was not only a criminal, but also lying to the court, the judge issued the injunction and the tenant packed up his bags and left without a marshal or sheriff because the alternative would have been the police arresting him for contempt.
Representing the successful landlord were Dov Treiman and Carolyn Rualo.