| Landlords Suing NYS Eviction
Pause Raise 1st Amendment Get 2 More Days To
Brief
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
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Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 24 – After New York State
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued
an Executive Order suspending
some eviction cases,
Westchester County based
landlord Elmsforth Apartment
Associates, LLC filed a
Constitutional lawsuit in the
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York.
Some time later
they sought a Temporary
Restraining Order.
The case
was assigned to SDNY Chief
Judge Colleen McMahon who held
a proceeding on June 5. Inner
City Press covered it, see
below.
On June 24 Chief
Judge McMahon
held an oral
argument, at
which the
First
Amendment
played an
unexpectedly
large role.
Plaintiff's
counsel Mark
A. Guterman
said he is
more of a
landlord -
tenant lawyer.
Judge McMahon
replied that
in the past
she had been
such a lawyer,
albeit in the
commercial
context, and
got to know
the
metropolis.
She said, if
you represent
a landlord and
he or she has
a
Constitutional
claim, you
pursue it.
Judge
McMahon
peppered
Guterman with
questions,
about being
able to recoup
past rent,
about security
deposits,
about limiting
his arguments
to the
Governor's
executive
order, not
decisions of
the NYS
courts.
Ultimately she
asked both
sides for
letter briefs
on the First
Amendment
issues. Inner
City Press
will continue
to cover this
case.
Back on June 5
Chief Judge McMahon started by
saying she would not be
issuing a Temporary
Restraining Order, asks why
the landlords waited 4
weeks. Judge McMahon
suggested converting the
motion for a TRO into a motion
for summary judgment.
The
landlords' lawyer Mark A.
Guterman said fine. So did
Governor Cuomo's lawyer
Matthew Conrad.
Judge McMahon said, Good. I'll
get to actually dispose of a
case... Are you making any
kind of commercial speech
argument?
Guterman
answered, It's not contained
in the papers, no.
Judge
McMahon said, I understand
some NYS court have been
reopened this week. Any change
to your case?
Guterman
said, Not on its face. Inner
City Press
Judge
McMahon concluded, I was
hoping we could do argument in
the week of June 22. I'll be
in the courthouse. Wednesday
the 24th, 10 am. We should be
in Phase 1 by then. Here's
hoping.
The case is
Elmsford Apartment Associates,
LLC et al. v. Cuomo,
20-cv-4062 (McMahon).
***
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