Braschi v. Stahl Associates Co.
Court of Appeals of New York
543 N.E.2d 49 (1989)
Braschi (plaintiff) lived with his partner Blanchard for 11 years in Blanchard's rent-controlled apartment, sharing finances and being treated by friends and family as spouses; Blanchard gave Braschi power of attorney, made him his life-insurance beneficiary, and named him primary heir. After Blanchard died, the building owner, Stahl Associates (defendant), moved to evict Braschi since he was neither the tenant of record nor a legally defined family member; Braschi sought an injunction, lost, and appealed.
Whether a person who openly lived as a committed, longtime partner of a rent-controlled tenant of record qualifies as a member of that tenant's "family" under New York's rent-control noneviction provision, protecting the partner from eviction after the tenant's death.