Judge rules in favor of Troy landlord

Lawsuit filed by nursing assistant claimed wrongful eviction during quarantine

A City Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a certified nursing assistant who claimed her landlord wrongfully evicted her from her Fourth Street apartment after she needed to quarantine due to a COVID-19 exposure.

Judge Matthew J. Turner determined that the tenant, Chasity Moran, the mother of a young son, had never been evicted from the apartment at 108 Fourth St. and that, had she elected to remain there, the landlord would have been unable to pursue an eviction due to restrictions in place during the pandemic.

The judge dismissed Moran’s legal action against the landlord, Michael Ginsberg, the proprietor of Lambert Building Co., and awarded Ginsberg $270 based on evidence that he was entitled to clean the apartment to rent it again.

Turner said both parties “acted in a manner inconsistent with maintaining the landlord-tenant relationship.”

Ginsberg characterized the ruling as a vindication of any allegations he had mistreated the tenant. He also noted that judge concluded that Moran had not been coerced or threatened into terminating the lease, as had been alleged.

“Under the COVID-19 moratorium on evictions at the time no eviction proceeding could be brought on the basis of non-payment,” Ginsberg said in an emailed statement. “It is important to recognize that in this matter, and as confirmed by the court, no eviction proceeding was ever brought or even threatened.”

Matthew Toporowski, the attorney for Moran, told the Times Union in an email that his client “is back working

as a nursing assistant at a nursing home on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, providing for herself and her son and has put this incredibly difficult ordeal behind her.”

Toporowski added: “This experience has taught her that she can rely on the incredible community in Troy in difficult times of need, who helped her secure safe housing during a deadly pandemic.”

The judge’s decision, rendered Feb. 19, described the sequence of events as follows:

On May 27 last year, Moran signed a lease agreement for one year at a total cost of $15,720. The agreement allowed Moran to pay monthly installments of $1,320 “for tenant’s convenience only.”

The agreement said: “If tenant defaults, landlord may give notice to tenant that tenant may no longer pay rent in installments. The entire rent for the remaining part of the term will then be due and payable.”

Moran, who worked at a local nursing home, was exposed to COVID-19 in August. As a result, she was forced to quarantine. Moran informed Ginsberg that she would not be able to pay her next rent installment due Sept. 1. She was intending to pay it in two weeks. On Sept. 15, when the money still had not been paid, Ginsberg notified Moran that, per their lease agreement, the “convenience” of paying the rent in monthly installments was being revoked.

Ginsberg sought $13,100 in damages —the remaining balance due — and filed a complaint with the court for an alleged breach of contract. That was not an eviction. Ginsberg and Moran later agreed that Moran would leave the apartment by Sept. 30. In turn, Moran would not be responsible for the $13,100.

A Ginsberg representative later reminded Moran she needed to be out of the apartment by Sept. 30. In response, Moran noted she had dropped in the mailbox a signed form from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighting a temporary halt of evictions during the pandemic.

There was no evidence that Ginsberg or Ginsberg’s representative prevented Moran’s access to the apartment, the judge ruled.

In court, Ginsberg testified he went to the apartment and found most of Moran’s belongings gone. He said there was no place to sit, sleep, eat, no toiletries and that furniture was disassembled. Ginsberg sent maintenance workers into the apartment in September and October. They had discovered dirty dishes, spoiled food and a fly infestation, he said. There was no indication anyone had returned, he testified during a hearing.

Some days later, Ginsberg changed the lock on the building’s exterior door, but not the door to Moran’s unit.

Moran and a tenant advocacy group, in turn, contacted Ginsberg to arrange a time to remove the rest of Moran’s belongings. They planned it for Oct. 22, but it was prevented by a protest organized there on Moran’s behalf in which those who gathered believed she had been illegally evicted.

“Such false assertions have the effect of damaging and undermining the legitimacy of activities aimed at helping those who are truly in need and actually experiencing a housing crisis,” said Thomas Lavery, Ginsberg’s attorney in the case.

Moran filed a lawsuit seeking permission to get back into the apartment, civil penalties for what she alleged was an illegal eviction, damages for the loss of belongings, legal fees and the dismissal of Ginsberg’s claims.

Ginsberg sought a dismissal of Moran’s lawsuit and rent from the months of September and October. He also wanted to recover damages for cleaning the premises.

In the judgement, Turner dismissed Moran’s suit and granted Ginsberg the damages for the cleaning of the apartment.