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A New York appeals court ruled on Thursday that a landlord can evict Bianca Jagger from her Park Avenue apartment because of her immigration status.
The former wife of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger has lived in the rent-stabilised apartment for some 20 years and argued that it was her primary residence and her landlord should be barred from evicting her.
A British citizen who was born in Nicaragua, Jagger is in the United States on a B-2 tourist visa.
Her lawyer, Ryan Goldstein, had argued that a mould problem in the apartment had made it unlivable and that she had stopped paying the US$4614 ($6205) a month rent in 2003.
Goldstein was not immediately available for comment.
The landlord, Katz Park Avenue Corp., countered that Jagger was in the United States on a tourist visa and, as a result, is not eligible to maintain permanent residence.
The 3-2 decision by New York State Supreme Court's Appellate Division reversed a lower court's finding.
The decision, which noted that the environmental activist maintains a luxury apartment in London's Belgravia section, said Jagger will also have to pay back rent and other fees.
Tenants in rent-stablised apartments are protected from sharp increases in rent.
Once a tenant leaves a rent-stabilised apartment, the landlord is free to charge market rate.
- REUTERS
