On behalf of a co-op owner, the firm’s motion for summary judgment was granted when we demonstrated that the co-op did not timely commence the proceeding under the requirements of §27-2009.1 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York (sometimes referred to as the “Pet Law” or “three month rule”). Vernon & Ginsburg, LLP represented respondents Roman & Valiantsina Portnov, whose open and notorious harboring of their dog had begun, the court found, more than three months prior to the landlord’s serving a notice of petition and petition, thus triggering a waiver of any no-pet lease clause under the Pet Law.
“By waiting to serve the Notice of Petition and Petition after it first became aware of the dog’s existence, petitioner acted at its own peril, notwithstanding that it gave the respondents the benefit of the doubt,” Civil Court Judge George M. Heymann wrote in 2229-13 Apt. Corp. v. Portnov..
The court noted further that “[p]erhaps [the landlord] should have heeded the adage: ’shoot first, ask questions later.’ Had petitioner taken the precautionary and affirmative steps of timely commencing this proceeding at the outset, the waiver provision of the ‘Pet Law’ would not have come into play.”
The decision appeared in the decisions of interest section of the New York Law Journal on January 21, 2010.
