Opinion
September 18, 1986
Appeal from the Nassau County District Court, First District Marie-Louise S. Nickerson, J.
Stanford A. Schwartz and Victor Mevorah for appellant.
Leonard S. Clark and Edward Luban for respondent.
MEMORANDUM.
Final judgment unanimously modified by striking the award of attorney's fees, and, as so modified, affirmed, without costs.
Real Property Law § 234 confers upon a tenant a reciprocal right to recover reasonable legal fees "incurred" if the lease permits the landlord to recover legal fees as against the tenant. In the instant case, the tenant was represented by a publicly funded legal services organization and was not required to pay for the legal services rendered. Since the term "incurred" means that the party is liable for the expense (see, Rubin v Empire Mut. Ins. Co., 25 N.Y.2d 426), the tenant did not incur legal fees within the meaning of said section.
DI PAOLA, P.J., SLIFKIN and WIDLITZ, JJ., concur.