315 East 72nd St Owners, Inc. v. Siegel

In 315 East 72nd St Owners, Inc. v. Siegel, (22 Misc 3d 10 [App Term, 1st Dept 2008]) the grandson seeking succession resided in Florida through his graduation from high school, and then moved to New York City for several weeks in anticipation of attending Columbia University. The grandson admitted that from the time of his arrival in New York City in the summer of 1998 through his grandmother's death in November 2001, he essentially lived in the apartment alone because his grandmother was convalescing in various hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes. On these facts, the Appellate Term described the grandson's connection to his grandmother's apartment as "too fleeting and ephemeral" to attain succession (id. at 13). The Appellate Term never considered, much less established, a requirement that a family member first prove that he or she was compelled to reside at school before he or she can claim that his or her absence from the subject apartment during school was merely a temporary interruption in the cohabitation requirement for succession.