Fox Rothschild Partner Joshua Kopelowitz secured a significant trial victory for West 84th Units LLC in New York City Civil Court, New York County, in a licensee holdover proceeding involving a rent-stabilized apartment half a block from Central Park.

At the conclusion of an eight-day trial, the court granted Kopelowitz’s motion for a directed verdict pursuant to CPLR 4401 and awarded West 84th Units LLC a final judgment of possession against the respondents, Nataliya Naumova and Steven Tsokanos.

The case centered on Naumova’s claim that she was entitled to succeed to the tenancy of the late tenant of record under the Rent Stabilization Code, based on an alleged nontraditional familial relationship. The unit in question is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a sunken living room and stabilized rent of about $1,600 per month. The unit is now worth roughly $2 million.

The court rejected that claim, finding that the record did not support succession rights and that respondents failed to establish the required “emotional and financial commitment” and “interdependence” between Naumova and the tenant of record.

The decision is an important result for West 84th Units LLC, confirming the owner’s right to recover possession where a claimed successor cannot meet the legal standard for a nontraditional family relationship under the Rent Stabilization Code.

Kopelowitz, a partner in Fox Rothschild’s New York office, co-chairs the firm’s Real Estate Litigation Group and represents clients in high-stakes commercial and real estate disputes, including disputes involving the operation and use of real estate. Paralegal Enid Pelaez assisted in the representation of West 84th Units LLC.