NYCTL 2019 TRUST v. 196 EAST 7TH STREET LLC (2026)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Francis A. Kahn III, J.), entered on or about September 17, 2025, which denied nonparty-appellant 196 East 7 Venture LLC's motion for a writ of assistance pursuant to Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 221, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

RPAPL 221 was not the appropriate vehicle to seek dispossession of nonparty-respondent.  By its terms, the statute authorizes a writ of assistance “if a party ․ withholds possession.”  Further, issuance of a writ of assistance “against one who was not joined as a party to the proceeding would violate due process” (Goshen Mtge., LLC v. Cumberbatch, 219 A.D.3d 806, 807, 194 N.Y.S.3d 325 [2d Dept. 2023] [internal quotation marks omitted];  see Gibbs v. Kinsey, 170 A.D.2d 1049, 1049, 566 N.Y.S.2d 117 [4th Dept. 1991]).  Appellant's reliance on CPLR 6501(a) is misplaced because that section does not account for how RPAPL 221 could be used against a nonparty despite the latter section's requirement that the target of the writ be a party.

We have considered the remaining arguments and find them unavailing.