After defeating her landlord's holdover proceeding, Gail Goldstein wanted to recover her legal fees. When the New York County Civil Court denied that request, the lady appealed.
Since she was a rent-stabilized tenant, her original lease--rather than a renewal--needed to have language which allowed the landlord to collect its fees and charges before she could attempt to recoup her costs.
Because she couldn't prove that the appropriate wording existed, the Appellate Term, First Department, concluded that Goldstein didn't have a legal right to get reimbursed.
(It also didn't think that the landlord had admitted that the tenant's original lease had the governing provision.)
Wasn't that a bit one-sided?
To view a copy of the Appellate Term's decision, please use this link: 303 E. 37th Sponsors Corp. v. Goldstein