A five-judge panel of the Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously affirmed a lower court ruling allowing a claim brought on behalf of tenants of London Terrace Gardens, a Chelsea apartment complex, against their landlords to proceed. The case, Dugan v. London Terrace Gardens, N.Y. County Clerk No. 603468/09, concerns the improper deregulation of rent-stabilized apartments in buildings participating in the City’s J-51 tax abatement program. The appellate court rejected the landlord’s argument that the State Department of Housing and Community Renewal, and not the courts, was the appropriate venue for the case. A motion for class certification is now pending in the lower court. The case was argued by ECBAWM associate Adam Pulver. ECBAWM partner Matthew Brinckerhoff and co-counsel Himmelstein, McConnell, Gribben, Donoghue & Joseph worked on the briefs and represent the plaintiffs in this ongoing litigation. ECBAWM is also counsel in four other cases brought on behalf of tenants in similar circumstances.

The court’s decision is available here.