Rent Abatement Denied

[consigliere]

The item below appeared in the New York Law Journal on December 11, 2002. Although the landlord's attorney talks about the warranty of habitabilty, which refers to residential tenants, the caption of the case, Battery Place Associates v. Paladine Software Consulting, indicates that this was a commercial case.
 
 
Post-September 11th Rent Abatement Denied Battery Park Tenant
 
A jury refused to grant a rent abatement Monday in what is believed to be the first case to go to verdict on a claim that post-Sept. 11 conditions around the World Trade Center gave rise to warranty of habitability claims, according to attorney David Abramson. The jury refused to abate $32,000 in rent due for the period October 2001 through June 2002, said Abramson, who represented the landlord in the dispute at a residential tower in Battery Park City (Battery Place Associates v. Paladine Software Consulting, L&T 75608/02). All residents had been barred from entering the area and the building for 10 days following the attacks, and the landlord had agreed to provide a credit for one month's rent, Abramson said. Richard A. Altman, who represented the tenant, Rodney Rollins, said an appeal is being weighed.
 

[Cranky Tenant]

This looks like someone who might be self employed and decided to sue under the business name.

My guess is, the lower court judge didn't want to touch this one for fear of opening up a huge can of worms.