Case Name: Katz Park Avenue Corp., Respondent, v. Bianca Jagger, Appellant, et al., Defendants
Court: New York Court of Appeals
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 2008-10-23
Citations: 11 N.Y.3d 314
Docket Number: 
Parties: Katz Park Avenue Corp., Respondent, v Bianca Jagger, Appellant, et al., Defendants.
Judges: 
Reporter: New York Reports
Volume: 11
Pages: 314–320

Head Matter:
[898 NE2d 17, 869 NYS2d 4]
Katz Park Avenue Corp., Respondent, v Bianca Jagger, Appellant, et al., Defendants.
Argued September 3, 2008;
decided October 23, 2008
POINTS OF COUNSEL
Law Offices of Roger D. Olson, New York City (Roger D. Olson of counsel), Lewis & Roberts, PLLC, Raleigh, North Carolina (Daniel K. Bryson of counsel), and Law Office of Ryan S. Goldstein, PLLC, New York City (Ryan S. Goldstein of counsel), for appellant.
I. The Appellate Division majority opinion erred in holding, as a matter of law, that a foreign citizen with a B-l/ B-2 visa is precluded from maintaining a “primary residence” in New York City. (Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557; Riverside Syndicate, Inc. v Munroe, 10 NY3d 18; Berkeley Assoc. Co. v Camlakides, 173 AD2d 193, 78 NY2d 1098; Hughes v Lenox Hill Hosp., 226 AD2d 4; MSG Pomp Corp. v Doe, 185 AD 2d 798; Chelsmore Apts. v Garcia, 189 Misc 2d 542; East End Temple v Silverman, 199 AD2d 94; Matter of New York State Labor Relations Bd. v Le Crepe—No. 3, 78 Misc 2d 171; Rocky 116 v Weston, 195 Misc 2d 363; Thornton v Baron, 5 NY3d 175.) II. The Appellate Division majority erred in granting summary judgment where plaintiff failed to establish its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law because (a) the notice of termination was predicated upon a lease that was declared a “nullity” for its purported attempt to exempt the subject apartment from the Rent Stabilization Law, and (b) there was no evidence in admissible form tending to establish that defendant maintained her primary residence at any location other than at the subject premises. (Drucker v Mauro, 30 AD3d 37; Riverside Syndicate, Inc. v Mun- roe, 10 NY3d 18; Draper v Georgia Props., 94 NY2d 809; Glenbriar Co. v Lipsman, 5 NY3d 388.) III. The Appellate Division majority erred in remanding plaintiffs application for an award of attorney’s fees and use and occupancy where it had failed to provide the court with a copy of the lease that was a nullity and, therefore, void ah initio. (Riverside Syndicate, Inc. v Munroe, 10 NY3d 18; Rose v Elias, 177 AD2d 415.)
Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP, New York City (Magda L. Cruz, Sherwin Belkin and Kristine L. Grinberg of counsel), for respondent.
I. Appellant’s B-2 temporary tourist visa bars appellant from maintaining a primary residence in the United States. (Emay Props. Corp. v Norton, 136 Misc 2d 127; Sommer v Ann Turkel, Inc., 137 Misc 2d 7, 139 Misc 2d 892; Matter of Herzog v Joy, 74 AD2d 372, 53 NY2d 821; Emel Realty Corp. v Carey, 288 AD2d 163; Matter of Stahl Assoc. Co. v State Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal, Off. of Rent Admin., 148 AD2d 258; Chelsmore Apts. v Garcia, 189 Misc 2d 542; Glenbriar Co. v Lipsman, 5 NY3d 388; Jain v Immigration & Naturalization Serv., 612 F2d 683; Ruiz-Almanzar v Ridge, 485 F3d 193; Mugalli v Ashcroft, 258 F3d 52.) II. The Appellate Division properly held that appellant failed to meet the primary residence criteria under the rent stabilization laws. III. The Appellate Division properly remanded the owner’s application for attorney’s fees and use and occupancy to the lower court.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
Smith, J.
We hold that, at least in the absence of unusual facts, a foreign national who is in the United States on a tourist visa cannot meet the "primary residence" requirement of New York City's rent regulations.
Defendant's landlord brought this ejectment action to remove her from a rent stabilized apartment in Manhattan. The landlord alleged that "the Premises are not occupied . as the Tenant's primary residence." In support of a motion for summary judgment, the landlord submitted photocopies of pages from defendant's passport, showing that she is a British citizen and was admitted to the United States on a "B-2" visa, commonly known as a tourist visa. In response to the motion, defendant submitted no evidence as to her primary residence, essentially taking the position that the landlord had failed to meet its burden of proof.
Supreme Court denied the landlord's motion (2005 NY Slip Op 30126[U] [2005]), but the Appellate Division reversed, with two Justices dissenting (46 AD3d 186 [2007]). The Appellate Division granted defendant leave to appeal, and we now affirm.
Under the Rent Stabilization Code (RSC), a landlord may recover possession of a rent stabilized apartment from a tenant whose lease has expired if the apartment "is not occupied by the tenant . as his or her primary residence" (RSC [9 NYCRR] § 2524.4 [c]). The Code does not define "primary residence" except to say that "no single factor shall be solely determinative," and to list "evidence which may be considered" in making the determination (RSC § 2520.6 [u]). An appellate court has defined the term as "an ongoing, substantial, physical nexus with the . . . premises for actual living purposes" (Emay Props. Corp. v Norton, 136 Misc 2d 127, 129 [App Term, 1st Dept 1987]).
But while the rent regulations require a "primary residence" in New York, the holder of a B-2 visa is required to have a "principal, actual dwelling place" outside the United States. Federal regulations make B-2 visas available to aliens who are "visitors for pleasure" of the kind described in section 101 (a) (15) (B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 USC § 1101 [a] [15] [B]; see 8 CFR 214.1 [a] [1] [i]; [2]). That subsection of the statute applies only to "an alien . . . having a residence in a foreign country which he has no intention of abandoning" (8 USC § 1101 [a] [15] [B]), and "residence" is defined as "principal, actual dwelling place in fact, without regard to intent" (8 USC § 1101 [a] [33]).
Thus, if her B-2 visa is valid, defendant has a "principal, actual dwelling place in fact" outside the United States. How she could at the same time have a "primary residence" in New York City is something she has not explained. The distinction between "primary residence" and "domicile" (see Emay Props., 136 Misc 2d at 128), relied on by Supreme Court and the dissenting Justices in the Appellate Division, is not relevant, because neither defendant's status under the rent regulations nor her immigration status depends on domicile.
We conclude that, at least absent some unusual circumstance, a primary residence in New York and a B-2 visa are logically incompatible. No such unusual circumstance exists here. Perhaps there are rare cases in which a tenant could show that her principal dwelling place for immigration purposes is in one place, and her primary residence for rent regulation purposes in another, but defendant has not even tried to make such a show ing. Nor has she suggested that her B-2 visa was issued in error, or has become invalid. Thus, we need not consider whether someone who is in the United States illegally may have a primary residence in New York for rent regulation purposes.
Accordingly, the order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed with costs. The certified question should be answered in the affirmative.