New York's top court has upheld Bianca Jagger's eviction from a rent-stabilised Manhattan apartment, concluding that foreigners on tourist visas generally can't claim New York digs as a "primary residence."
The globe-trotting human rights activist and ex-wife of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger was evicted in December from the apartment she rented for 20 years. She hasn't lived in the apartment for the past few years because of a dispute over asbestos and fungus contamination that led to a lawsuit against landlord Katz Park Avenue Corp.
Court of Appeals Judge Robert Smith wrote that Jagger failed to explain how she could have a valid tourist visa and a primary residence in New York City.
Jagger is a native of Nicaragua and a British citizen, and she keeps an apartment in London.
"There are still claims for legal fees and unpaid rent and use and occupancy," said attorney Magda Cruz, the landlord's lawyer. She said there's no way of knowing how many New York tenants on tourist visas might be affected by the ruling since tenants generally don't disclose their visa status when they rent.
Jagger's lawyer, Roger Olson, did not immediately return a call.
Jagger was renting the 18th-floor Park Avenue space for $US4614 ($NZ7900) a month when a judge imposed a fine in 2006 and ordered her to pay months of back rent, though she said the apartment was uninhabitable because of the contamination. The apartment has since been leased to another tenant.
As that dispute wore on, the landlord evicted Jagger, saying she wasn't entitled to rent control protections.
