Judge Scott Fairgrieve
Abraham Karron filed this summary holdover action against Daniel Karron, and Daniel moved for dismissal. Daniel alleged the one month notice for termination of a tenancy was an invalid predicate notice as it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA). He also claimed the 30-day notice claim was invalid as it was legally insufficient because the notice of termination was signed by an attorney not named in the lease violating Siegel v. Kentucky Fried Chicken of Long Island. The court ruled the Kentucky Fried Chicken rule did not apply as the attorneys were not completely unknown to each other, and Daniel had fair notice that Abraham’s attorney was authorized to act on his behalf as they had prior dealings. Also, it stated even if Abraham’s attorney violated the FDCPA, dismissal of the summary proceeding was unwarranted as the FDCPA did not provide for or compel dismissal of special proceedings commenced by landlords because of alleged unauthorized debt collection practices by their attorneys. Further, the court noted Daniel’s alleged oral agreement for a life estate in the premises was void as it violated the statute of frauds. Thus, dismissal was denied, and the matter was set down for trial.
