PLAINTIFF WAS NOT BARRED FROM SEEKING RENT OVERCHARGES BASED UPON A 1986 RENT REDUCTION ORDER (SECOND DEPT).

he Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff could seek rent overcharges based upon a 1986 rent reduction order:

… [T]he plaintif’s first cause of action to recover damages for rent overcharges based upon the May 1, 1986, rent reduction order was not barred by the then-applicable four-year statute of limitations and the “look-back rule,” precluding examination of the rental history prior to the four-year period preceding commencement of the action (see former Rent Stabilization Law of 1969 [Administrative Code of City of NY] § 26-516[a][2]; former CPLR 213-a; Matter of Regina Metro. Co., LLC v New York State Div. of Hous. & Community Renewal, _____ NY3d _____, 2020 NY Slip Op 02127). Since rent reduction orders impose a continuing obligation on landlords, tenants are entitled to recover for any rent overcharges occurring during the applicable limitations period by reference to rent reduction orders that remain in effect during that period, even if the rent reduction order was initially issued outside the limitations period … . Santana v Fernandez, 2020 NY Slip Op 03383, Second Dept 6-17-20