Withdrawing your consent from a stipulation

[Mark B]

Hello
Can someone please advise:

I signed a stipulation that LL Attorney made up in housing court stating that i have to pay, all outstanding rent by August 16th, and if i do not a warrant of eviction will be issued. I am thinking now that i shouldn't have consented this stipulation and gone to trial instead. How do I withdraw my consent from this stipulation , so that its void. Is there any case law on this...?


Thank you

[TenantNet]

I'm sure this happens almost every day. You don't say but I'm assuming you were pro se, self-represented without an attorney.

Did the judge explain to you the repercussions of the stip?

Is the word "judgment" anywhere in the stip? Or "consent to judgement?" Does it say anything like "with prejudice."

You may need to file an "Order to Shaw Cause" to get out of the stip.

Start here: http://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/tenantsguide.pdf (see page 11)
also http://goo.gl/O3I4GD

You can also go to the Pro Se office for legal advice on how to do this - on the first floor if you are in Manhattan.

[TenantNet]

To follow-up, see this article from the NY Law Journal:

Judge Vacates Deal Accepted by Unrepresented Tenant
Sarah Betancourt, New York Law Journal
July 26, 2016

A tenant who agreed, when he didn't have a lawyer, to leave his apartment in a month now has a chance to make the arguments that may allow him to keep his home.

Brooklyn Housing Court Judge Marc Finkelstein vacated a stipulation of settlement between REDF Equities and at least five tenants in REDF Equities LLC v. John Doe & Jane Doe, L&T 083226/15.

Responding to an action brought by one tenant, the judge observed that the courts generally favor stipulations of settlement. Here, however, he said the stipulation is "unduly harsh and one-sided, it was signed inadvertently, without advice of counsel" and thus could not be enforced.

"Having just been evicted from his home of seven years without any advance warning and appearing pro se without being aware of any defenses he may have had, the respondent had little choice but to agree to a stipulation which at least allowed him a short time to be restored to possession, locate another apartment, and prepare to move," the judge said.

REDF Equities petitioned in October 2015 to evict the tenants, saying they did not have a current lease. After several protested they were locked out and evicted without notice, the parties signed the stipulation restoring them to their apartments until Dec. 31, 2015.

One of the tenants filed a court order to show cause and subsequently retained South Brooklyn Legal Services.

Chantal Johnson, the lawyer who is handling the tenant's case, said she sees cases like this all of the time. "It makes me wonder how many tenants are giving up rights they may have," she said.

Edward Hall of Balsamo & Rosenblatt represents REDF Equities. He did not respond to requests for comment.