Lawsuits and Court Procedures in New York

I am excited to share Legal Services NYC’s “A Commercial Tenant’s Guide to Landlord Disputes: Understanding Court Procedure and Answering Petitions and Complaints in New York.” This essential guide gives small business owners comprehensive information about the process for lawsuits in New York courts for eviction, debts, and other civil issues. It includes important information about court documents, filing deadlines, and common defenses and counterclaims. It is available in English, Chinese, and Spanish, with more translations on the way (see “Housing and Tenants’ Rights” for all available translations).

I am so grateful to LSNYC’s incredible Cleary Gottlieb Fellow, Meghan Liu, for all of her work on this project. The result is an unprecedented resource for small business owners and attorneys alike.   

The New York State Court System is designed for small businesses to fail. CPLR 321(a) prevents small business owners from appearing on behalf of their business without an attorney, and the court process is unnecessarily complex for owners sued personally and able to appear for themselves. Owners are forced to make detrimental decisions - including closing their businesses - because of this unjust system, regardless of the merits of the court case. 

It is so important that this guide reach small business owners before, or at least at the onset, of any legal action. Please share it far and wide and let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. While I am now in private practice, I continue to collaborate with LSNYC to protect our City’s small businesses, who are the backbone of so many neighborhoods and communities.