Hardy et al v. 595 Baltic Asset LLC

You received a Notice, pursuant to Rule 904 of the New York Civil Practice Law, because records indicate that you may be a member of a Plaintiff Class in a lawsuit against the owner and manager of the building located at 595 Baltic Asset LLC (“Defendant”), which is currently pending in the New York Supreme Court, New York County.

Plaintiffs here assert that Defendant received 421-a tax benefits at the Building. Under New York State law, these benefits were only available if all the apartments at the Building were subject to the rent-stabilization laws. The 421-a Program requires that the first rents for apartments participating in that program are to be set utilizing the amounts the unit’s first occupant was “charged and paid.” Plaintiffs assert that Defendant violated the law by failing to take into account rent concessions, received by the initial tenants at the Building, when registering the first rents for the units. Additionally, Plaintiffs assert that Defendant utilized concessions on subsequent tenancies, which were not taken into account when setting preferential rents at the Building. Plaintiffs assert that, as a result, tenants at the Building were charged more than the maximum legal rent for their apartments, and/or were denied the other benefits of rent-stabilization, such as mandatory lease renewals at amounts allowed under New York State law.

A class action is a lawsuit where one or more persons sue not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of other people who have similar claims. These other people are known as Class Members. In a class action, one court resolves the issues for all Class Members.

Defendant claims that it has meritorious defenses to the claims made in the Action and expressly denies all allegations raised in the Action and any wrongdoing or violation of law. Nevertheless, Defendant is entering into the Settlement solely because the proposed Settlement will eliminate the uncertainties, burden, and expense of further litigation.

Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel believe that the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate and in the best interests of the Plaintiffs and the Class. Plaintiffs and Lead Counsel also took into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the Class’s claims and defenses and determined that the terms of the proposed Settlement are fair, reasonable, and adequate, and in the best interest of the Class.

Anyone who signed a lease to rent a unit at 595 Baltic from February 27, 2016, to September 17, 2025.

All those who signed leases to rent Units during the period from February 27, 2016 through September 17, 2025, regardless of whether he, she, or it has a Past Overcharge Amount (defined below) that is positive, zero, or negative, who has timely and properly filed a Claim Form (and do not opt out as described in FAQ8) is an “Eligible Class Member.”

Each Eligible Class Member who has a Past Overcharge Amount will receive a disbursement of cash from the Cash Settlement Account (defined below) in the amount of such Eligible Class Member’s Past Overcharge Amount(s) (the “Settlement Distributions”).

If an Eligible Class Member’s Past Overcharge Amount is equal to or less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) such eligible Class Member’s Past Overcharge Amount shall be deemed to be $250.00. Defendant will contribute at least $740,000.00 into the Cash Settlement Account, in two payments: (a) $100,000.00 within ten (10) days of the date of final approval of this settlement; and (b) $640,000.00, plus accrued interest, within ten (10) days of the Building’s transfer of ownership, or thirty (30) months from the Effective Date, whichever is sooner.

If the total Past Overcharge Amount for all Eligible Class Members exceeds the available funds in the Cash Settlement Account (the “Net Cash Settlement Amount”), then the Past Overcharge Amount will be paid based on the pro rata share that each Eligible Class Member’s Past Overcharge Amount bears to the total Net Cash Settlement Amount.

The amounts of the “Past Overcharge Amounts” for the Class Members shall be calculated by subtracting each unit’s initial Net Effective Rent (i.e. the average rent, taking into account any concessions) from the rent paid by the class member on a monthly basis, beginning on February 27, 2016, and adding interest to that amount, at the statutory interest amount of 9% per annum, calculated on a month-by-month basis, until the date of execution of this Stipulation. The Past Overcharge Amount shall be reduced by any amount due and owing to the landlord (“Non-Payment Deductions”) by the Eligible Class Member.

The Settled Rent (i.e., the rent on a going forward basis) is the Legal Regulated Rent for each unit, registered with DHCR, and subject to the preferential rent limitations of the RSC and RSL.

If an Eligible Class Member leased more than one Unit during the Class Period, all of Past Overcharge Amounts for each lease term will be combined into one Past Overcharge Amount. Regardless of the number of Units an Eligible Class Member leased, if such Eligible Class Member had co-tenants who were not signatories to each of the leases for such Eligible Class Member, lease terms with different co-tenants on the applicable lease will not be aggregated for purposes of calculating the Past Overcharge Amount and the Eligible Class Member will have separate Past Overcharge Amounts for each lease term for which there were different co-tenants.

Past Overcharge Amounts and claims for Past Overcharge Amounts shall not be assignable or otherwise transferable by Eligible Class Members to any person or entity, other than Eligible Class Member’s executor, administrator or trustee (for a trust that is in existence as of the Preliminary Approval Date or is a special needs trust) who may file or accept payment of that Class Member’s claim.

If the Eligible Class Member for a particular lease term consists of two or more co-tenants, the Past Overcharge Amount will be divided equally amongst them. Settlement Distributions shall be made to only those co-tenants who timely submit a Claim Form. Any Non-Payment Deductions also shall be made equally and proportionally from each such co-tenant’s Settlement Distribution, even if other co-tenants exist, but fail to submit a Claim Form (unless any other co-tenant opts out, in which case all the co-tenants shall be deemed to have opted out, including those co-tenants who timely submit a Claim Form). Any disputes among co-tenants concerning the allocation of any Settlement Distributions under this Settlement must be addressed and resolved amongst the co-tenants outside the scope of this Settlement, and the existence of any such actual or potential disputes shall not be a basis for objecting to the Settlement.

Any Non-Payment Deductions that will be deducted from any Past Overcharge Amount as discussed above shall be remitted to Landlord at the time Settlement Distributions are made. Any such payments to Landlord will reduce any amount owed by an Eligible Class Member, but such Eligible Class Member shall remain liable to Landlord for any balance remaining due after such payments. Any rent forgiven as part of any public health emergency legislation shall not be deducted as part of any Non-Payment Deductions. Any rent payment plan entered into by a tenant with Landlord prior to the Order and Final Judgment Date shall be accelerated and treated as a Non-Payment Deduction. If the amount owed under such payment plan exceeds the Past Overcharge Amount, then no Settlement Distribution shall be made and the remaining rental arrears shall be due and payable pursuant to the payment plan. If the Landlord claims a Non-Payment Deduction should be made to an Eligible Class Member’s claim, such Eligible Class Member shall have forty-five (45) days from the receipt of notice to submit an objection to the claimed Non-Payment Deduction and any supporting documentation or other materials (the “NPD Objections”). Plaintiffs and Defendant will confer on the resolution of all NPD Objections. All NPD Objections that cannot be resolved will be submitted to the Court for determination.

TO RECEIVE ANY DAMAGES TO WHICH YOU MAY BE ENTITLED, YOU MUST FILE A CLAIM FOR SETTLEMENT DISTRIBUTIONS BY COMPLETING THE ATTACHED CLAIM FORM AND MAILING IT POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY 13, 2026, TO NEWMAN FERRARA LLP AT THE ADDRESS LISTED ON THE FORM.

If a single Unit had multiple co-tenants at any given time, any subsequent dispute as to the entitlement to any Settlement Distributions under this Stipulation shall be solely between and among such co-tenants without recourse to Landlord and without any liability to any of the parties to this Stipulation. For identity verification purposes, all Claim Forms shall require Class Members to provide the month and year when their lease(s) commenced and terminated and the addresses of such Class Member’s leased Unit(s). Class Members who do not timely file a Claim Form pursuant to these procedures shall be deemed to have waived and released their Past Rent Claims and Past Overcharge Amounts but shall nonetheless remain subject to the applicable releases discussed below unless he, she or it becomes an Opt-Out. Determinations as to whether a Claim Form has been timely and properly filed shall be made by the Claims Administrator.

Any claims for treble damages, any other punitive damages, fines, and/or interest (other than 9% simple interest referenced above) are waived under the Settlement.

To file a claim, you must submit the claim form postmarked by February 13, 2026. Include the month and year that your lease(s) started and ended and the address(es) of your unit(s). Mail the completed form to:

Newman Ferrara LLP

Attn: 595 Baltic Settlement Claims

1140 Sixth Avenue, 9th floor

New York, NY 10036

You can download the claim form here.

You may choose to be excluded from the provisions of the settlement relating to the Past Rent Claims. If you choose to be excluded in this way (“opt out”) you will not receive any cash payment as a result of this Settlement, and you may seek damages by bringing an independent action or proceeding on your own behalf.

Each Class Member will be bound by all provisions of the Stipulation and the Settlement, whether favorable or unfavorable, unless such person mails, by first class mail, a written request for exclusion from the Class, postmarked no later than FEBRUARY 13, 2026 (the “Bar Date”), addressed to the Claims Administrator, which shall provide daily reports of such requests to each of the parties’ attorneys. No Class Member may exclude himself, herself, or itself from the Class after the Bar Date.

In order to be valid, each request for exclusion must:

1. set forth the name and address of the Class Member requesting exclusion (the “Opt-Out”);
2. provide that such Class Member “requests exclusion from the Class in Hardy v 595 BALTIC ASSET LLC, Index No. 151732/2022”;
3. be signed by such Class Member; and
4. include the addresses of all of such Class Member’s leased Unit(s).

Requests for exclusion will not be accepted if they do not include the required information or if they are not made within the time stated above unless they are otherwise accepted by the Court. If one co-tenant of a Unit is an Opt-Out, all co-tenants of that Unit shall likewise be deemed to be Opt-Outs as to each lease term for which they were co-tenants.

The maximum rent for all Opt-Outs who are current tenants of the Building at the time they opt out shall be the Settled Rent and may be increased thereafter in accordance with applicable law.

Opt-Outs will not receive any Settlement Distributions. In any subsequent proceeding, Opt-Outs may make any claim or argument as to Past Rent Claims belonging to such Opt-Outs and Defendant may raise any defenses available to them whether at law, equity or pursuant to the Order and Final Judgment. Unless expressly provided in this Stipulation, Class Members may not choose to be excluded from any provisions of this Stipulation including, but not limited to, all provisions regarding Future Rent Claims and the declaratory relief discussed above.

Lead Counsel may apply to the Court, unopposed by Defendant, for a fee award of up to 33.33% of the Settlement Amount, plus out of pocket expenses (the “Attorney’s Fees and Expenses Award”), to be paid from the Settlement Amount.

Plaintiffs may apply, unopposed by Defendant, to the Court for approval of an incentive award (the “Class Representative Incentive Award”) in the amount of $12,500 each. The Class Representative Incentive Award shall be deducted from the Settlement Amount.

All the expenses incurred by Newman Ferrara LLP in connection with providing Notice, including, but not limited to, the expenses associated with printing and mailing the Notice to Class Members (the “Notice Costs”) will be deducted from the Settlement Amount.

The settlement hearing will occur on February 25, 2026, at 11 am in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Par 2, Room 212. The address is 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007.

You have the right to appear in person or through an attorney in Court at the Settlement Hearing and object to the proposed Settlement, or to otherwise be heard at the Settlement Hearing. You may present any evidence or argument that may be proper and relevant. However, to do so, you must, by no later than FEBRUARY 13, 2026, file with the Clerk of Court and serve notice of your intent to appear by hand or by first class mail, postage prepaid, upon counsel for the parties, as specified below:

Such notice shall contain:

1. a written notice of intention to appear containing a notarized statement attesting to the fact that such person is a member of the Class, and setting forth the Unit(s) in the Building in which the member resides or resided and the dates of said residence;
2. a detailed statement of such person’s specific position with respect to the matters to be considered at the Settlement Hearing and the grounds therefore; and (c) copies of any papers such person intends the Court to consider.

Any member of the Class who fails to object in the above-prescribed manner shall be deemed to have waived his, her or its objection and shall be barred from raising such objection in this or any other action or proceeding.

You can obtain more information by contacting Class Counsel (Newman Ferrara LLP) by calling (212) 619-5400 or emailing Roger Sachar at rsachar@nfllp.com.

All communications and discussions with Newman Ferrara LLP, other than requests to opt out of the lawsuit, are confidential and will not be disclosed without your consent.

Please do not contact the Court with questions involving this lawsuit.

Additional information about the lawsuit is available by calling 1-888-884-2386.