Ruiz v. Chwatt Assocs (1998)

In Ruiz v. Chwatt Assocs., 247 A.D.2d 308 [1st Dept 1998, mem], the First Department affirmed the trial court's findings that a typewritten rider to the lease providing that the apartment was leased exclusively for professional purposes controlled over a preprinted clause providing that the "apartment was to be used by tenant and his family as 'a strictly private dwelling apartment.'" ( Id. at 308.) The Ruiz court declined to award the tenant rent-stabilization protection even though he lived in the premises for 30 years. The court stated that the certificate of occupancy and other evidence established that the apartment was leased exclusively for professional purposes even though the landlord mistakenly registered the apartment over the years as rent stabilized and requested rent increases in conformity with rent-stabilization guidelines. (See id.)