Attorney Steven Gottlieb

Attorney Steven Gottlieb Specializing in Landlord Tenant Law, Bankruptcy, SSI/SSD Denials, Guardianship - call today for a free consultation! (845) 338-2139

08/24/2020

We are excited to announce:
as of September 15, 2020
The Law Offices of Steven Gottlieb is moving to :
74A Tinker Street
Woodstock, NY 12498
the phone number remains 845-338-2139
We look forward to servicing you!

03/08/2020

Small Claims: An Attorney's Journey to Seek Justice and Redemption in a Soup Kitchen Legal Clinic Every Friday afternoon for 18 years, upstate New York attorney Steve Gottlieb set up a sandwich-board sign in front of the Clinton Avenue United Methodist Church soup kitchen that proclaimed "Free Legal...

02/24/2020

Question:
I have been staying with my sister for six months as my old boyfriend and I split up. She didn’t ask me for any rent for a few months, but she just lost her job and is demanding that I pay her $500 a month for my room. I said I am a guest and she can’t charge me. She said that I can be considered a tenant and she is now demanding rent from me. I think $500 a month is too much for just a room and besides my two kids let her watch our TV and play their video games. There’s never enough heat and my new boyfriend says I am entitled to heat and hot water. Am I a guest or a tenant? Do I have to pay her rent?
Answer:
A tenant is a party who has entered into a lease or rental agreement with a landlord. A tenant pays rent to a landlord for the living space. Both parties have certain rights and responsibilities, which are outlined in the lease.
A guest is a person invited by the tenant to be at the property. A guest does not pay rent and is not on the lease. State laws differ as to the definitions, rights and responsibilities of tenants and guests. A guest transforms herself into a tenant when she pays rent, receives mail at the property, regularly spends nights at the property, moves in furniture or pets, and makes maintenance requests.
I don’t think the question is whether you are a tenant or a guest. I think the question is: What is the right thing to do here? I think you are lucky to have such a kind sister who would take you, your new boyfriend, and your two children into her home. I believe that you have a personal duty to pay the rent to help your sister as well as a legal duty to pay rent once she tells you in writing or orally that she expects you to pay rent to her or she can evict you.
Sometimes, the right thing to do is so apparent that folks tend to miss it. Help out your sister.

02/20/2020

The Law Offices of Steven Gottlieb has opened a satellite office at 74 Tinker Street in Woodstock New York. The firm’s Kingston office at 721 Broadway will continue to operate.
The Woodstock office will expand it’s eviction prevention efforts in conjunction with private and community agency referrals. Along with providing pro bono court assistance to qualified families, the Woodstock office will also assist the disabled, elderly and veterans with various legal issues involving SSD, ADA, and EEOC.
To schedule an appointment at either location please call 845 338-2139 or 845 684-7011

01/15/2020

QUESTION:
My landlord is driving me crazy. She lives above my apartment and lately she has been wandering around her apartment all day and night yelling at herself and people that are not there. She has also been throwing things at the walls and has left the bath tub water running, flooding my kitchen.
I have tried to speak with her about this behavior but she refuses to listen to me. I can't sleep, or have visitors as we can't even have a normal conversation. I now wear ear plugs and use a white sound machine but nothing really works. What can I do? Can I sue her for emotional distress?

ANSWER:
You can sue to recover your deposit after you vacate, but you cannot sue to force your landlord to be quiet. Small Claims Court is not a venue for tenants to sue their landlord for emotional distress, harassment, or violations of law that do not have specific monetary damages associated with them. You could withhold your rent and then if she sues to evict you, you can claim you are not paying under a theory of the violation of quiet enjoyment of your premises. Your landlord may be suffering from an illness. Perhaps you may want to notify a friend or relative of hers or adult protective services.

11/07/2019

Question:
I filed a lawsuit against the estate of my grandmother and believe that I am owed thousands of dollars for taking care of her while living in my room on her property. I just was illegally evicted in local justice court. I am suing for adverse possession. The sheriff's department just executed a warrant a few days ago. There was a lot of stuff, old books, old clothes, boots and junk that I just left there in the rain. The estate hired someone to remove it and take it all to the dumps. THIS WAS MY STUFF. I think I can sue them for the value of my things that they illegally removed. Can I just add this lawsuit to my first lawsuit claiming adverse possession? Can they deduct the cost of the removal of my stuff from whatever I am due under the Will? My legal advisor thinks I have another great case and I can win a lot of money, possibly hundreds of dollars.

Answer: I can see that you didn't take my previous advise about accepting what your grandmother left you in her Will and moving on with your life. If you were properly served, submitted an answer to the charges in Court, evicted through the Courts, most likely it was a valid warrant of eviction. If you were evicted by the Sheriff's Department, it was most likely a properly executed eviction. If you left piles of stuff abandoned in the rain, you most likely can't claim damages unless you have receipts for all of your stuff AND the courts and sheriff's department were aware that you were claiming that your were in the process of removing the stuff, and perhaps filed for a Stay of your eviction. But if you were legally evicted, that avenue of relief is now moot. In regard to "adding this possible lawsuit" to your previous one, you could try , but I think the courts would turn you down. In regard to charging you for the removal of your stuff The Probate Court, upon the estate's proper petition for relief, could very well go after you for the costs associated with removing all of your abandoned stuff. You could actually wind up owing the estate money if the Court determines your claim is frivolous and without merit.
Good luck.

07/25/2018

From "The Lgal Corner" by Steve Gottlieb

Question:

My former boyfriend and I got into a huge blow-up and
afterwards he packed up his stuff and moved out of our apartment. A few days later my landlord informed me that she
received a letter in which allegations were made about me. The writer claimed that I had been selling drugs out of my
apartment and that several of the men that have been
visiting were felons. She is now threatening to evict me.
A similar letter was sent to my boss who is thinking about firing me. I think it’s my former boyfriend who is doing this to me. Can the police check the letter for fingerprints and see who did this? I could lose my job and apartment over this.”

Answer:

There is little chance that the police would get involved in this situation unless there was some criminal offense involved.
Even then, there would be very little benefit in fingerprinting a letter which has already been handled by more than one or two people. If a secretary opened the letter, read it, then gave it to a supervisor to read, it would be very difficult to find the original sender's fingerprints on the letter. The more people who have handled the letter, the lower the chance there is of finding a clear latent print from the sender.
Further, even if fingerprints were recovered from the letter, how would you go about comparing those fingerprints to discover who sent the letter? If the sender’s fingerprints aren’t already in the system, it would involve fingerprinting
everyone in the landlord's office and your workplace for
comparison. Sorry, but there's not much the police can
do for you in this situation.

While a legal service attorney I represented children and their families in a case against New York City, based on the h...
08/25/2014

While a legal service attorney I represented children and their families in a case against New York City, based on the horrific conditions of their apartments and as the below story shows- we had a victory.

Our free legal clinic is still going strong after all these years!
08/25/2014

Our free legal clinic is still going strong after all these years!

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Woodstock, NY

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(845) 338-2139

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