The Appellate Division, First Department, reversed an Appellate Term ruling Tuesday that would have barred prevailing tenants in eviction cases from recovering attorney fees if the landlord had a “colorable claim.”

“A colorable claim standard would result in the gutting of the protections afforded by [Real Property Law §234] because it would allow courts to deny fees whenever the landlord can make a nonfrivolous legal argument in support of its position,” the unanimous panel wrote.