New York, NY – September 25, 2026 – Greenspoon Marder Litigation senior counsel Tapan R. Oza and Litigation associate Amith Arcot successfully represented a client, referred by the City Bar Justice Center, pro bono in a dispute over her ownership of her home that resulted in a judgment that confirms their client’s ownership of her Brooklyn home and shields her from further disputes over the property.
Oza and Arcot represented the client, a Brooklyn resident who has been residing at her home for over 40 years, in a quiet title action brought by her upstairs neighbor (the “Plaintiff”) attempting to secure sole possession of the home and then to evict the client. The Plaintiff instituted the action after the client’s mother passed away at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the client’s mother having paid for the property, the Plaintiff had only put his name on a 1985 deed. Once the client’s mother passed away, Plaintiff began to claim that he was the sole owner of the property and that the client had to leave the property or pay rent.
The Court granted the client a default judgment in her favor on her counterclaims, which were supported by a letter the Plaintiff had signed around the time the home was purchased that granted the client’s mother an interest in the property. Plaintiff’s claims were also dismissed for failure to prosecute.
The judgment confirms the client’s full and equal ownership interest in the property as a tenant in common with the Plaintiff and establishes significant protections for her going forward, including a permanent injunction against Plaintiff from performing any work on the property without the client’s written consent and from removing or destroying the client’s or her mother’s belongings. In addition, the client received a monetary award after Plaintiff prevented the client from accessing her mother’s old room and removed all of the client’s mother’s possessions after she passed away.
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