The Legal Aid Society and Legal Services NYC have filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by a group of landlords seeking to roll back New York State’s recently enacted eviction moratorium on behalf of Housing Court Answers and Make the Road NY, as reported by the New York Law Journal.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently upheld the State’s new law against a similar challenge after Albany enacted amendments to its eviction moratorium, invalidating the landlords’ claims. To date, all three lawsuits filed by the landlord lobby in New York State against the statewide eviction moratorium have been defeated in court.

Residential eviction moratoriums are credited with saving lives across the United States, in addition to providing critical time necessary for renters to apply for, and their landlords to receive, financial assistance through newly created rental assistance programs.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an ongoing public health emergency. As of October 14, 2021, over 2.5 million New Yorkers had tested positive for COVID-10 and over 55,000 have died from the disease. The number of cases in New York has continued to rise despite six months of general vaccine eligibility to all adults living or working in New York.

“This lawsuit is another frivolous and meritless attempt from the landlord lobby to protect their bottom line, and we are confident that a court will quickly reject these amended claims,” said Edward Josephson, Supervising Attorney with the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “The Legislature promptly amended the law to reflect the Supreme Court’s due process concerns, and the amended statute now gives landlords their day in court while continuing to protect millions of tenants statewide.”

“We are looking forward to the court granting our motion to ensure that tenants’ interests are fully represented,” he continued.