The Plaintiff, a professional corporation having an office at 370 Lexington Avenue, sued pursuant to a lease.  Plaintiff is seeking damages for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment, violation of the New York City Smoke-Free Air act, and nuisance.  Plaintiff alleges that smoke from an adjoining suite seeped into its office, make its employees suffer from the ill effects of secondhand smoke and making certain rooms in the plaintiff’s suite totally unusable.  After receiving complaints about the smoke, defendant Murray Hill, which is the managing agent for the building, assured Mr. Paul that the problem would be resolved.  Defendant Anderson continued to smoke in his office.  Plaintiff eventually moved to another building and is seeking damages for its moving costs and for its inability to use the rooms in plaintiff’s suite.  Defendants moved for summary judgment on all claims.  The Supreme Court of New York, New York County, ruled that “plaintiff has demonstrated that there are issues of fact for trial on the cause of action for breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment,” and that the New York City Smoke-Free Act does not provide for an individual cause of action.  The Court also ruled that the plaintiff has a nuisance cause of action against the smoker, Anderson, but not against the owner (370 Lex, L.L.C.) or the managing agent.  See Lin, A., “Lawyer’s Lawsuit Against Smoking Neighbor Proceeds,” New York Law Journal, March 7, 2005.

794 N.Y.S. 2d 869, 2005 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 477 (Sup. Ct. NY, NY Cty. 2005).