Attorneys at The Legal Aid Society are calling out a series of lawsuits pushed by New York City landlords challenging renter protections after a federal judge tossed the latest of the lawsuits last week, as reported by the New York Daily News.

In a March 8 decision, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Edgardo Ramos found the landlords’ case to overturn the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act couldn’t continue – upholding the reform’s constitutionality. It’s the fifth lawsuit brought by landlords since state Democrats radically strengthened New York’s tenant protections in 2019.

Ellen Davison, an attorney with The Legal Aid Society who represented several tenant advocacy groups in the suit, called the lawsuits “a well-financed plan to try to get one of these five cases before the Supreme Court with the new justices.”

“An immense amount of money is being spent on this effort,” said Davidson. “Not because there’s a belief that so much has changed constitutionally with the new law. There’s a belief that they can buy their way up to the Supreme Court, and then bring property law back to 19th centu­ry jurisprudence.”