Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. Secures Rare Tenant Ejectment in Apparent Case of First Impression

New York County Supreme Court extends longstanding nonpayment eviction principles to tenants who violate court-ordered safety injunctions

---

 

NEW YORK, May 12, 2026 – Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., one of New York City’s preeminent real estate law firms, announced that it secured a significant victory in New York County Supreme Court, obtaining the ejectment of a residential tenant who repeatedly violated a court-issued safety injunction.

The decision is notable because New York courts have traditionally applied this type of forfeiture analysis in cases involving financial noncompliance, most commonly when tenants fail to pay court-ordered interim use and occupancy during litigation. In those situations, courts have long held that a tenant can forfeit the right to remain in possession.

Here, however, the court applied the same principle to repeated violations of a behavioral injunction designed to protect other residents and building employees from dangerous and disruptive conduct, recognizing that the equitable principles governing conditional possessory rights are not limited solely to monetary obligations.

The case arrives at a time when landlords across New York face increasingly strict tenant-protection laws, which significantly limited traditional eviction remedies and made nuisance-based removals more difficult and time-consuming to pursue. Against that backdrop, the ruling is likely to draw attention throughout the real estate industry as a potential expansion of the enforcement tools available to owners confronting serious safety issues inside residential buildings.

Ariel S. Bresky, Counsel in R&E’s Litigation Department, who represented the landlord in the case, said: “Between the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, the Good Cause Eviction law, and the broader political climate, today’s landlords are too often relegated to fighting with two hands tied behind their backs. This decision is a reminder that when a court issues an order, it retains the authority to enforce it. When a tenant places other residents, families, and building employees in harm’s way, owners are not condemned to inaction.”

The case arose after the landlord established a documented pattern of objectionable conduct that allegedly endangered residents and employees within the building. The court issued a preliminary injunction barring the tenant from engaging in conduct that interfered with other tenants’ peaceful enjoyment or created hazardous or unsafe conditions. When the tenant continued engaging in the prohibited behavior after entry of the injunction, the landlord sought ejectment.

Rosenberg & Estis successfully guided the case by building on longstanding First Department precedent allowing courts to remove tenants who fail to comply with conditions attached to their continued occupancy during litigation. Traditionally, those cases involved tenants who remained in possession but failed to pay court-ordered use and occupancy. Here, the firm advanced a novel argument that the same equitable principle should apply when the condition is not financial, but compliance with a court-ordered injunction protecting the safety and welfare of other residents and building staff. After extensive briefing and oral argument, the court agreed, holding that a tenant who repeatedly violates a safety-related injunction may likewise forfeit the right to remain in possession.

Bresky said: “From the outset, our objective was to create a practical, efficient path to a real-world result. Rather than allow the case to drag on while the building’s tenants and staff remained at risk, we carefully built the record and extended a doctrine that has governed use and occupancy disputes for decades to its logical conclusion. The result was meaningful, lasting relief that protected both the property, the tenants and building staff as effectively and efficiently as possible for our client.”

###

About Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.

Founded in 1975, Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. is widely recognized as one of New York City’s preeminent real estate law firms. R&E provides full-service representation and advice in every aspect of real estate, from performing due diligence and evaluating financing, to handling joint ventures, acquisitions and leasing, construction and design team agreements, property tax exemptions and abatements, land use and zoning matters, Real Property Income & Expense (RPIE) filings, real estate tax certiorari, co-op and condo offering plan filings and board representation, distressed situations workouts, foreclosures and bankruptcies, trust and estate planning, as well as the litigations and negotiations which sometimes ensue when deal-making. R&E’s wealth of experience in New York real estate makes it the ideal partner for owners, developers, not-for-profit corporations, educational institutions, sponsors, equity investors and lenders in both real estate transactions and in all court venues.