FILED: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CLERK 06/26/ :43 AM INDEX NO /2017 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 33 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 06/26/2018

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2 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Index No:½9805 /200 el'i COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER Filed: (6 jo5i X LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC., 337 E 77 REALTY Plaintiff(s) designate(s) LLC, LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC., WESTCHESTER County THOMAS BENINCASE, LOUIE NEGRON, as the place of trial MARISOL HERNANDEZ, URIEL CASTELAN and RAQUEL CONCEPCION, SUMMONS Plaintiffs, The basis for Venue is -against- Plaintiff's business address. AZIZ SOUSS, Plaintiff does business at: 109 Spencer Place Defendants. Mamaroneck, NY X TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the Plaintiff(s) Attorneys within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. Dated: Bronx, New York May 3, 2017 Yours, etc., LA OFFICES OF EDMOND J. PRYOR By: Edmond J. Pryor Attorneys for Plaintiff 292 City Island Avenue DEFENDANTS' ADDRESSES: Aziz Souss 77* 337 E. Street, Apt. 1A New York, New York Bronx, New York YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY BRING THESE DOCUMENTS TO YOUR ATTORNKY OR INSURANCE COMPAN Y

3 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER X LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC., 337 E 77 REALTY Index No. fjlo805 / ze n LLC, LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC., THOMAS BENINCASE, LOUIE NEGRON, MARISOL HERNANDEZ, URIEL CASTELAN and RAQUEL CONCEPCION, VERIFIED COMPLAINT Plaintiffs, -against- AZIZ SOUSS, X Defendants. X Plaintiffs, by their attorneys, the LAW OFFICES OF EDMOND J. PRYOR, as and for a Verified Complaint, alleges as follows: PARTIES 1. Plaintiff LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. was and is a domestic corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York and licensed to do business in the State of New York. "Landlord" 2. Plaintiff 337 E 77 REALTY LLC (the "Landlord") was and is a domestic limited liability company organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York and licensed to do business in the State of New York. 3. Plaintiff LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC. was and is a domestic corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of New York and licensed to do business in the State of New York. 4. The Landlord owns the building known as 337 East 77th Street, New York, New York (the "Property" ). S

4 1 5. Plaintiff LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. is the management company for the Landlord. 6. Plaintiff LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC. performs maintenance services at the Property. 7. Plaintiff THOMAS BENINCASE ("Benincase") is an individual doing business in Westchester County, State of New York and employed by plaintiff LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. 8. Plaintiff LOUIE NEGRON ("Negron") is an individual doing business in Westchester County, State of New York and employed by plaintiff LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC. (" Hernandez" 9. Plaintiff MARISOL HERNANDEZ ("Hernandez") is an individual doing business in Westchester County, State of New York and employed by plaintiff LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. 10. Plaintiff URIEL CASTELAN ("Castelan") is an individual doing business in Westchester County, State of New York and employed by plaintiff LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC. 11. Plaintiff RAQUEL CONCEPCION ("Concepcion") is an individual doing business in Westchester County, State of New York and employed by plaintiff LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. 12. Plaintiffs LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. and LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC. work closely together in managing and maintaining real estate holdings under the management of plaintiff LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC. 2

5 ! (" Defendant" 13. Defendant AZIZ SOUSS ("Defendant") is an individual residing in New York County, State of New York, in apartment 1A at the Property. 14. Defendant has resided in apartment 1A of the Property, a multiple family apartment building owned by 337 E 77 REALTY LLC, since approximately September INTRODUCTION 15. This action for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, prima facie tort, nuisance and conversion is the culmination of over thirteen years of harassment and outrageous conduct by Defendant AZIZ SOUSS, directed at the Landlord, and the Landlord's managing agent and office staff, of the rent-stabilized apartment in which he resides. 16. Defendant's insidious behavior - which has run the gamut from falsely reporting non-existent building code violations, to vandalizing the Landlord's property and threatening the Landlord's staff - has not only caused significant financial haim to the Landlord, but has caused severe emotional distress to Landlord's employees. If permitted to continue unabated, Defendant's behavior could escalate and lead to devastating consequences for the innocent victims he targets. 17. As early as 1999, Defendant launched into a pattern of harassment, name-calling, slander, libel, abuse of the court system, destruction of property and other tortious behavior aimed at the above-named plaintiffs. As set forth below, Defendant's relentless menacing has caused emotional and financial harm to the plaintiffs, has threatened the safety of other tenants, has caused significant property damage, and has left plaintiffs with no choice but to seek legal redress and compensation for the injuries sustained at the hands of Defendant. 3

6 I FACTUAL BACKGROUND 18. Defendant is habitually late in paying rent, and has been since the early 2000s. In fact, by 2006, the Landlord had commenced at least six (6) non-payment proceedings, in each instance obtaining a judgment in its favor. Since 2000, there have been at least 17 nonpayment proceedings. 19. Many times, those non-payment proceedings prompt Defendant to escalate the defamatory, harassing and destructive behavior aimed at the plaintiffs herein. 20. First, Defendant has filed numerous false complaints with the New York City Department of Buildings ("DOB") and has commenced several baseless actions in Housing Court alleging violations of the Administrative Code. 21. The alleged "violations," and the subject matter of the DOB complaints, lack any factual basis and/or are based upon conditions created by Defendant. During the period of time that plaintiffs have made repeated attempts to remedy the alleged "violations," the individual plaintiffs have been subject to repeated verbal abuse, harassment and intimidation in the form of name calling and threats, among other things, which will be discussed further below. 22. In other instances, after filing complaints with the DOB, Defendant has refused Landlord access to his apartment, and plaintiffs have been unable to inspect the alleged "violations." 23. For example, Defendant has made countless complaints that the toilet in his bathroom backs up and emits a foul smell. Plaintiffs have made numerous attempts to remedy the alleged toilet issue, but upon inspection in every instance found that the toilet flushed with no problem, and filled with clean water.

7 24. At Defendant's insistence, and after he filed complaints with DOB about the toilet issue, plaintiffs hired not one, but two, plumbing companies. 25. The first plumbing company inspected the toilet and found it in good working condition, with no waste blockages. 26. The second plumber removed the toilet in Defendant's apartment and ran a sewer inspection camera through the line. This plumbing company observed that the sewage line was clear and unobstructed. 27. Upon information and belief, Defendant is not flushing his toilet so the he can complain that it is backed up. No other tenant on the first floor or above him, who shares the same sewer line, has complained about or experienced any back-ups in the hne. 28. As further example of Defendant's baseless allegation of DOB and Administrative Code violations, Defendant has made repeated complaints that the boiler room makes such loud noises that it interrupts his sleep. Yet, no one who has inspected the issue was able to hear any loud noise, let alone one loud enough to wake Defendant from his slumber. 29. Despite the questionable nature of Defendant's complaint, plaintiffs have taken several steps to insulate the boiler to reduce noise output, including adding sheetrock to the ceiling, and replacing very expensive circulating pumps. 30. Defendant has also complained that the front doors to the building make loud noises when tenants enter and exit. Plaintiffs have had the door inspected and have attempted to adjust the door to reduce the noise. Not satisfied, Defendant engaged in self-help and damaged the door by putting tape on it to prevent it from latching. 5

8 31. Defendant's alteration of the door not only caused damage, but threatened the safety of other tenants by leaving the doors open to trespassers. 32. Defendant is responsible for other damage in and around the building. He has used a laser to damage the newly installed video cameras in the building, and has otherwise intentionally damaged property belonging to the Landlord within Apartment 1A, including, but not limited to, severing an ignition wire in the stove and breaking floor tiles. 33. Defendant's abuse and harassment has extended to Landlord's employees, without any apparent motive or reason other than to intentionally and knowingly intimidate and cause injury to them. 34. For example, in the past year, Defendant has made defamatory statements about the individual plaintiffs, as follows: liars;" a. Defendant called Castelan and Hernandez "nasty liars, b. Defendant called Castelan a "liar, incompetent fake super, bad c. Defendant stated that Benincase's "main objective is to beat him up or murder apartment;" him inside his d. Defendant also stated that Benincase was "racist sick bigot cheap landlord criminal;" e. Defendant stated that Benincase, Hernandez and Concepion were a bunch of liars;" "low class f. Defendant accuses all individual plaintiffs, at various times, of being racist and engaging in discriminatory practices; and g. Defendant falsely accused Negron of harassing him. faith;" 35. In April 2017, Defendant threatened to file a complaint with the police and the district attorney on Negron, and to "subpoena" Hernandez and subject her to criminal penalties. 36. Defendant told Negron in a very threatening manner: "I am going to harass you" don' and "you don't know what I am going to do." 6

9 37. Defendant's actions have become increasingly aggressive. In January 2017, Negron was forced to file a complaint against Defendant with the 19th Precinct, NYPD for aggravated harassment when Defendant falsely accused Negron of beating up Defendant. 38. More recently, in April 2017, Defendant told Negron that he if did not leave the building by the time Defendant returned he would kill him right there. Fearing his safety, Negron filed a second complaint with the 19th Precinct, NYPD for harassment in the second degree. 39. As stated earlier, plaintiffs have been victims of Defendant's unrelenting harassment and menacing behavior for more than a decade. In 2004, Defendant left Benincase a voic threateningly advising Benincase that Defendant "was a Muslim", and to "stay away" because "you know what that means." 40. Further, in 2006, Defendant commenced an action against the Landlord, a board member of Landlord, and several employees, alleging discriminatory practices. This would be the first of several baseless litigations instituted by Defendant against the Landlord. Such action was later rejected in its entirety and dismissed in a Determination and Order After Investigation by the City of New York Division of Human Rights (Complaint No. M-H-CN ). 41. In 2009, Defendant commenced a second action against Landlord in the Supreme Court, New York County, alleging that he slipped and fell, that settled before trial. (Index No /2009) 42. Ironically, Defendant has allegedly been injured a second time on the property, and has commenced a second action for a slip and fall on ice in Supreme Court, New York County, bearing Index No /

10 43. Most recently, on February 27, 2017, Defendant commenced an action in Civil Court of the City of New York against Landlord for an alleged failure to return property and breach of the warranty of habitability (Index No. CV /NY). 44. In the last couple of weeks, Defendant posted a Notice in view of all tenants advising them as follows: "DON'T PAY THE RENT" in a clear effort to interfere with the other tenants' obligations to the Landlord. 45. Defendant's improper use of the legal system to harass the Landlord, AND HIS ATTEMPTS TO INCITE OTHER RESIDENTS, is further evidence of actionable misconduct for which Landlord seeks damages. Defendant's conduct is nothing short of reprehensible. CLAIMS FOR RELIEF AS AND FOR A FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT ON BEHALF OF INDIVIDUAL PLAINTIFFS DEFAMATION 46. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate by reference all previous allegations. 47. As set forth above, Defendant made false and defamatory statements about each of the individual plaintiffs. 48. The false statements were published to third parties, including, but not limited to, other tenants in Landlord's building. 49. Defendant does not have privilege or authorization to make such defamatory statements. 50. Defendant's statements unambiguously accuse the individual plaintiffs of criminal activity and unprofessional conduct in the course of practicing their profession. 8

11 I 51. Defendant's statements were intended to injure and did injure each of the individual plaintiffs' reputations in their industry. 52. By reason of this defamation, each of the individual plaintiffs has been greatly injured in character and reputation, and suffered abuse and harassment, as well as great pain and mental anguish. 53. Defendant is liable to each of the individual plaintiffs for actual and compensatory damages, damages for injury to their professional reputation and damages for emotional distress. 54. As a result of the above, each individual plaintiff has been damaged in an amount to be determined by a court but in no circumstances less than the sum of $250, As the injuries were caused willfully, wantonly, and with actual and common law malice, plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a comt AS AND FOR A SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT ON BEHALF OF INDIVIDUAL PLAINTIFFS INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS 56. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate by reference all previous allegations. 57. As set forth above, in the past year, Defendant has engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct that transcends all bounds of decency. 58. Defendant intends to cause, or disregard the substantial probability of causing, severe emotional distress to the individual plaintiffs by his conduct. 59. Defendant's extreme and outrageous conduct has caused severe emotional distress and injury to each of the individual plaintiffs. 60. As a result of the above, each individual plaintiff has been damaged in an amount to be determined by a court but in no circumstances less than the sum of $250,000. 9

12 61. As the injuries were caused willfully, wantonly, and with actual and common law malice, plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a court. AS AND FOR A THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION BEHALl" AGAINST DEFENDANT ON BEHALF OF ALL PLAINTIFFS PRIMA FACIE TORT 62. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate by reference all previous allegations. 63. As set forth above, Defendant has engaged in more than a decade-long pattern of verbal abuse, harassment and litigiousness that serves no other person than to intentionally inflict harm on the plaintiffs. 64. Defendant's outrageous and improper conduct has caused special damages in the form of attorney costs and fees to defend the baseless litigation, expert and consultant fees to investigate Defendant's false claims of NYC building code and Administrative Code violations, and lost wages for time missed from work to file criminal complaints, etc., among other special damages. 65. There is no excuse or justification for Defendant's conduct other than to injure plaintiffs. 66. As a result of the above, each plaintiff has been damaged in an amount to be determined by a court but in no circumstances less than the sum of $250, As the injuries were caused willfully, wantonly, and with actual and common law malice, plaintiffs are entitled to punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a court. AS AND FOR A FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT ON BEHALF OF 337 EAST 77 LLC NUISANCE 68. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate by reference all previous allegations. 10

13 69. As set forth above, Defendant's actions have caused substantial interference in the exercise of rights of the Landlord and the tenants of Landlord. 70. Defendant intends to cause an interference with the rights of others. 71. Defendant's behavior and conduct is unreasonable in character. 72. Defendant's actions interfere with the rights of Landlord and tenants of the Landlord, to use and enjoy the building. 73. As a result of the above, Landlord has been damaged in an amount to be determined by a court but in no circumstances less than the sum of $500,000. AS AND FOR A FIFTH CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST DEFENDANT ON BEHALF EAST 77 LLC CONVERSION 74. Plaintiffs hereby incorporate by reference all previous allegations. 75. At all relevant times, Landlord had ownership possession and control over the building located at 337 East 77th Street, where Defendant is a tenant. 76. Defendant unlawfully exercised unauthorized dominion over Landlord's property, including but not limited to the front doors to the building, and the security cameras, and caused alteration and damage to them. 77. Defendant's actions interfered with the rights of the Landlord, and caused damaged in an amount to be determined by a court, but which are believed to be in excess of $500,000. WHEREFORE, plaintiffs demand judgment against the defendants as follows: 11

14 a. On the First Cause of Action, judgment for each individual plaintiff in an amount to be determined by a court, but in no circumstances less than the sum of $250,000, plus punitive damages as determined by the court are warranted; b. On the Second Cause of Action, judgment for each individual plaintiff in an amount to be determined by a court, but in no circumstances less than the sum of $250,000, plus punitive damages as determined by the court are warranted; c. On the Third Cause of Action, judgment for each plaintiff in an amount to be by a court, but in no circumstances less than the sum of $250,000, plus punitive damages as determined by the court are warranted d. On the Fourth Cause of Action, judgment for 337 East 77 LLC in an amount to be determined by a court, but in no circumstances less than the sum of $500,000; e. On the Fifth Cause of Action, judgment for 337 East 77 LLC in an amount to be determined by a court, but in no circumstances less than the sum of $500,000; f. Costs, fees and disbursements of this action; and g. For such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper. Dated: Bronx, New York May 3, 2017 Yours, etc., L FICES OF EDMO J. PRYOR By: Edmond J. Pryor Attomeys for Plaintiff 292 City Island Avenue Bronx, N.Y ph: fx:

15 VERIFICATION STATE OF NEW YORK } COUNTY OF BRONX } }ss.: I, THOMAS BENINCASE, being duly sworn, deposes and says that I am one of the plaintiffs in this action; I have read the foregoing COMPLAINT, know the contents thereof; and the same is true to my own knowledge, except as to those matters therein which are stated to be alleged on information and belief, and as to those matters I believe them to be true. Sworn to before me on May THOMAS BENINCASE ~ ARY PUBLIC JOHN DIONISIO Notary Publla State of New York Qualified - Westchester # county 01D Exp,9/3g/1g 13

16 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER X LIBERTY ENTERPRISES, INC., 337 E 77 REALTY Index No /2017 LLC, LIBERTY PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, INC., THOMAS BENINCASE, LOUIE NEGRON, MARISOL HERNANDEZ, URIEL CASTELAN and RAQUEL CONCEPCION, Plaintiffs, -against- AZIZ SOUSS, Defendants. -X SUMMONS AND VERIFIED COMPLAINT LAW OFFICES OF EDMOND J. PRYOR Attorneys for Plaintiff(s) 292 City Island Avenue Bronx, New York