Carmine Limited v. Gordon

In Carmine Limited v. Gordon, 41 AD3d 196, 837 N.Y.S.2d 146 [1st Dept, 2007]) the trial court dismissed the petition after trial finding that Petitioner had failed to establish non-primary residency. The respondent in that case had been the tenant of record for twenty-five years. The Appellate Term affirmed the decision, with a dissenting memorandum issued by Justice McCooe (9 Misc 3d 138[A], 862 N.Y.S.2d 806, 2005 NY Slip Op 51763[U], 2005 WL 2850928). Justice McCooe's dissent was in part based on the trial court's failure "to give the proper weight to the undisputed documentary evidence, particularly the lack of electric usage at the apartment (Id)." Justice McCooe noted that there were four months where no electricity was used, and another seven months where the electricity used ranged from 10 kWhs per month to a high of 70 kWhs per month. The decision further noted that the testimony of the Con Edison employee was that a refrigerator could not operate on 70 kWhs per month, and that a hundred watt bulb would use about 28 kWhs per month if left on for eight hours a day (Id). The Appellate Division reversed both the trial court and the Appellate Term, in large part based on the low electrical usage (41 AD3d 196, 197, 837 N.Y.S.2d 146).