Hunter College denys a student enrollmint an evicts her unjustly

[Playa76911S]

Bernie Sanders 2020 Free Collage 4All!

https://nypost.com/2018/02/28/college-dropout-refuses-to-leave-her-dorm-room/

[MRM]

Welcome to last week on PARF, Playa. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-politics-religion/989210-poetic-justice-social-justice.html

This has to do more with New York’s tenant-friendly eviction laws than anything else.

[john70t]

$94K for a couple years dorm housing?
She's working but not paying them?
The unstoppable force meets the immovable object.

My magic eight-ball is predicting she gets help from those pro bono assistance centers, negotiates, sublets for good income to groups of mysterious people who scare the other students, files federal countersuit for discrimination, negotiates more, finally loses both, negotiates, files bankruptcy, buys house.

[fintstone]

Sounds to me like she lived there for 8 years.

[cstreit]

Gives me an idea.

1. Enroll in free college.
2. Take a class or two and maintain minimum grade point average.
3. I assume this comes with free room and board.
4. Repeat until I get bored?

[legion]

Originally Posted by MRM

This has to do more with New York’s tenant-friendly eviction laws than anything else.

I was under the impression that much of the northeast, and states like California, Oregon, Washington, and Illinois (and probably many others) had similar.

I knew three guys in college that shared an apartment. They threw a party (one party) and the landlord started eviction proceeding on them. In retaliation, they stopped
paying rent and refused to leave, as they knew that it would take longer to evict them then was left in the school year.

[MRM]

I think you've named the biggest offenders. New York City is especially notorious for allowing people who willing to manipulate the system a way to legally squat for a long time. I think what happens is that if the tenant comes up with some counterclaim or a basis for not paying rent, real or imagined, the case leaves housing court and goes to the regular civil court. Once there, the regular rules of civil procedure apply and without too much difficulty the tenant can stretch the case out for years with strategically timed motions, discovery, more motions and then a mediation or two. It also sounds like the school is cautious in pursuing the eviction too aggressively. I think there is an attorney's fees provision in New York where if a tenant is found to win on any portion of the claim she is entitled to attorney's fees and other penalties. So it can be tough for a landlord to get a determined squatter to leave.

[LWJ]

I am just pleased to see Playa.

[legion]

Originally Posted by MRM

Once there, the regular rules of civil procedure apply and without too much difficulty the tenant can stretch the case out for years with strategically timed motions, discovery, more motions and then a mediation or two.

That, IMO, sums up one of the major issue with our legal system and why it must be updated or set aside.

Back in 2010 I hired a realtor for a no-service listing on the MLS. I paid him a $500 flat fee and the contract contained a clause that I could have my money back if I was dissatisfied in any way. I took the photos and provided the descriptions. I sent him these things. He put up a listing that used half the photos that I sent him and none of the descriptions--they were all in text message abbreviations (which was weird because he was in his mid-50s). After 3 months of trying to get the listing into the shape I wanted by resending photos and descriptions, I told him I wanted my money back. He went silent.

I sued him in small claims court. I got a default judgement at the first court appearance as he did not show. It took a dozen more court appearances over the next two years to get an order to pay (and he knew just when to show up to ask for more time, claim hardship, etc.). It took a handful more appearances over another six months to get a contempt of court charge and a warrant issued. He paid up promptly once the warrant was issued. In summary, it took 2.5 years, 16 or so court appearances, and about $400 of my own expenses (of which only about $250 were recoverable) to get my $500 back--and this is when I had a judgement in hand after my first court appearance!

It probably would have been much faster, cheaper, and effective to show up at his place and threaten him with physical violence. Our legal system is supposed to provide a nonviolent path for dispute resolution, but it is completely fails at this. It has morphed into a system where lawyers can intentionally bog down the process for their own enrichment, the victims are often punished and impoverished in their quest for justice, and the perpetrators (of torts or crimes) can use it to extend a clear injustice--often past the point where it is practical of the victims to get justice.