90 Washington Street Rent Overcharge Settlement

The 90 Washington Street Rent Overcharge Settlement is a single-building case. It covers tenants of one address — 90 Washington Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City — and no other property. It is not a New York City rent-stabilization settlement, not a settlement covering other 421-g buildings, and not a general rent-overcharge settlement. If you rented anywhere else, you are not in this class. And to clear up the name: this is Washington Street in Manhattan’s Financial District — it has nothing to do with Washington State or with the Washington State job-posting and pay-transparency settlements listed elsewhere on this site. Within that one building, the class is narrower still: your apartment must have been treated as deregulated, your lease must have been signed before June 30, 2018, and you must have lived there on or after June 14, 2015. For the people who do qualify, there are two separate benefits, and they are cumulative rather than a choice: a cash refund of past rent overcharges plus 9% simple interest, and — for class members still living in the building only — a fixed “Settled Rent” going forward. The notice lists that Settled Rent for 13 specific units; if your unit is not on that list, the forward-looking rent reduction is not yours. Read the $1,739,811 figure carefully. It caps the past-rent cash refunds only — claims above it are cut pro rata — and the forward-looking Settled Rent is neither paid from it nor limited by it. Attorneys’ fees of up to 33.33% (roughly $580,000) plus expenses and an incentive award of up to $7,500 come out of that same fund, so what reaches claimants is materially less than $1.74 million. One more thing that can zero out a refund entirely: any rent you still owe the landlord is deducted and paid to the landlord, and if your arrears exceed your overcharge you receive nothing. Filing is by mail only — there is no online portal — and the form must be postmarked on or before November 2, 2026.

Do I Qualify?

You may be eligible if:

• You signed a lease for an apartment at 90 WASHINGTON STREET, New York, NY — this one building and no other. Renting anywhere else, including elsewhere in Manhattan or in another 421-g building, does not put you in this class, and this is by far the biggest reason someone who finds this page will not qualify
• Your apartment was treated as DEREGULATED. The case is about units removed from rent stabilization under the "luxury deregulation" rule while the building was receiving 421-g tax benefits, so a tenant who always held a rent-stabilized lease is not who this settlement is about
• You resided in the building at some point PRIOR TO JUNE 30, 2018 — the date the building's 421-g benefits ended
• You resided in the building ON OR AFTER JUNE 14, 2015 — the statute-of-limitations cutoff
• Individuals AND entities that rented deregulated units are both covered; this is not an individuals-only or a business-only class
• Eligible states: none in particular — the class is not defined by where you live now. A former tenant who has moved to any other state qualifies on the same terms as someone still in the building. Living in New York does not qualify you on its own, and note that "Washington" here is a Manhattan street, not Washington State
• You file a Claim Form postmarked on or before November 2, 2026. There is no automatic payment in this settlement — a class member who files nothing gets no refund but is still bound by the release
• You do not opt out. And if you shared a lease, no cotenant on that lease opts out either — one cotenant's opt-out is treated as an opt-out by all cotenants on that lease, even those who filed claims
• SEPARATE, NARROWER BENEFIT: the fixed "Settled Rent" going forward applies only to eligible class members still residing in their units, and the notice sets it out unit by unit for 13 specific apartments. Former tenants get the cash refund only

No receipts and no Notice ID or claim number are required. The claim form does not ask for a rent ledger, cancelled checks, a lease copy, or an administrator-issued code. What it does ask for is sworn detail: your name and current contact information, the address and apartment number of every unit you rented at 90 Washington Street from June 14, 2015 to the present, the lease start and end date for each, and the names of any cotenants who signed with you — all affirmed under penalty of perjury and signed. That means accuracy matters more than paperwork: the lease dates you write are what your refund is calculated against, so check them against your own records before you mail the form. If you held more than one apartment in the building over the years, list each lease separately. The Claims Administrator decides whether each form was timely and properly filed. Two specific traps are worth naming. First, a form that is not signed is not a filed form. Second, a joint claim needs each cotenant’s own name and current contact details, and cotenants who do not file are not paid their share — so if you shared the lease, make sure everyone who wants a refund is on the form or files their own. Current tenants who want to know the Settled Rent for their unit should check the official court notice, which lists it unit by unit, or call Lead Counsel at (212) 619-5400.

What Happened?

The case is Chad Vignola et al. v. JDM Washington Street LLC, Index No. 152025/2020, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, before Justice Lisa S. Headley, Part 17. Plaintiff Chad Vignola, a tenant of the building, filed the putative class action on February 25, 2020 on behalf of current and former tenants.

The complaint alleges the building received tax abatements or exemptions under New York City's 421-g program. Under the 1993 Rent Regulation Reform Act, rent-stabilized apartments with a legal rent of $2,000 a month or more that were vacant or occupied by tenants earning a combined $250,000-plus a year could be removed from rent stabilization — the so-called "luxury deregulation" rule. Certain units at 90 Washington Street were treated as deregulated on that basis.

Plaintiffs allege that deregulation was improper because buildings receiving 421-g benefits were barred from luxury deregulation. They further allege tenants were entitled to a 421-g rider disclosing the benefits and their expiry date, and that failure to provide the rider entitled tenants to rent-stabilized leases for as long as they occupied their units. The class sought damages for past overcharges ("Past Rent Claims") and a declaration setting future rents at levels determined by the Rent Stabilization Law and Code ("Future Rent Claims").

The defendant asserts various defenses, including that its conduct did not violate the rent regulations, and says it is settling solely to eliminate the uncertainties, burden and expense of further litigation. The notice states plainly that its description of the litigation does not constitute findings of the court and should not be read as any expression of the court's opinion on the merits.

The parties signed a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated April 17, 2026. The court granted preliminary approval, which opened the claim process. Epiq is the settlement administrator.

Under the settlement, the defendant contributes $1,739,811.00 into a Cash Settlement Account for past rent refunds. Separately, eligible class members still residing in their units receive a fixed Settled Rent effective the first day of the month after final approval; the notice lists those amounts for 13 units, ranging from $1,900.00 to $4,175.00 a month.

Lead Counsel is Newman Ferrara LLP (Roger A. Sachar Jr., 55 East 59th Street, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10022, (212) 619-5400, rsachar@nfllp.com). Defendant is represented by Horing Welikson Rosen & DiGrugilliers, PC. Lead Counsel may apply, unopposed, for fees of up to 33.33% of the settlement amount plus out-of-pocket expenses, to be paid FROM the settlement amount, and for a class representative incentive award of up to $7,500.

The release is broad and binds every class member who does not opt out, whether or not they file a claim: it covers all claims that were or could have been made about residential rents at the building, the rent-regulated status of any unit, and any other Rent Stabilization Law or Code claims based on acts before the final judgment date — including claims for treble damages and claims that a tenant was entitled to a particular form of lease or notice.

The final settlement hearing is scheduled for November 16, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. before Justice Headley at 80 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013. The court may approve the settlement with modifications, or adjourn the hearing, without further notice to the class. If the settlement is approved and any appeal period runs or any appeal is resolved, refunds will be distributed; no payment date has been announced. If it is not approved, the case resumes and the settlement becomes null and void.

The public court file can be examined during business hours at the office of the Clerk, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, under index number 152025/2020.

How to File Your Claim

1. MAIL ONLY — there is no online claim portal. The court-approved notice and the claim form both route claimants through the mail, and the official website provides a printable form rather than an online submission
2. Download the claim form from the official settlement website, 90WashingtonClassAction.com, run by settlement administrator Epiq
3. Check the box for either a claim for yourself only or a joint claim for yourself and your cotenants
4. Fill in your name and CURRENT contact information — the administrator needs to reach you at today's address, not the apartment you rented
5. List the address and apartment number of every unit you rented at 90 Washington Street from June 14, 2015 to the present, with the lease start and end date for each, and the names of any cotenants who signed the lease with you
6. Sign the form. It is sworn under penalty of perjury, and an unsigned form is not a filed form
7. No receipts, rent ledgers, cancelled checks or Notice ID are required — the form asks you to swear to your unit and lease dates, and the Claims Administrator decides whether each form was timely and properly filed
8. Mail it postmarked ON OR BEFORE NOVEMBER 2, 2026 to: 90 Washington Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 3628, Portland, OR 97208-3628. No timezone is specified because this is a postmark deadline, not an online cutoff — build in mailing time
9. If you shared a lease, coordinate with your cotenants before mailing. A refund for a lease term is split equally among the cotenants, only cotenants who file are paid, and if any one cotenant opts out then EVERY cotenant on that lease is treated as having opted out, including those who filed
10. Questions go to Lead Counsel, not to the court: Roger A. Sachar Jr., Newman Ferrara LLP, (212) 619-5400, rsachar@nfllp.com. Current tenants who want to know their post-approval Settled Rent should ask counsel or check the official notice for their unit number
11. OPTING OUT is a different, stricter process with the same November 2, 2026 postmark date: a signed written exclusion request sent by First-Class mail to Lead Counsel that states you "request exclusion from the Class in Chad Vignola et al. v. JDM Washington Street LLC (Index No. 152025/2020)" and lists the addresses of all your leased units
12. OBJECTING is stricter still and also due November 2, 2026: you must file with the Clerk of Court and serve counsel for both sides a notice of intent to appear containing a NOTARIZED statement that you are a class member, your units and dates of residence, a detailed statement of your position, and any papers you want the court to see — and the notice warns that anyone who files one consents to expedited discovery, including testimony under oath, on three days' written notice
13. Doing nothing gets you no refund and still releases your claims about rents and the rent-regulated status of units at the building, including treble damages
14. Visit the official claim form: https://90washingtonclassaction.com/

How Much Will I Actually Get?

There is no flat payment and no single advertised figure — every refund is calculated from that claimant's own rent history. The notice sets out the arithmetic: first a "Legal Regulated Rent" is established at the amount charged four years before the complaint was filed; second, for rent paid between February 25, 2016 and the Preliminary Approval Date, the claimant is owed the difference between what they actually paid and that Legal Regulated Rent, plus SIMPLE interest at 9% per year running from the first day of each month in which the overcharge occurred; third, that figure is reduced by any amount the tenant still owes the landlord. Two features of this settlement are cumulative rather than an either/or choice, and most summaries collapse them. (1) Every eligible claimant who files gets the cash refund above. (2) SEPARATELY, and in addition, eligible class members still living in their units get a fixed "Settled Rent" that becomes their effective rent on the first day of the month after final approval. You do not pick one or the other. There is no documented-loss tier and no no-proof alternative to weigh against the refund — the cash refund is a single path, and the Settled Rent is a second, additional benefit for current residents only. Be precise about what the $1,739,811 covers. It is the amount the defendant pays into the Cash Settlement Account for PAST rent refunds only, and if the total of all valid Past Overcharge Amounts exceeds what is left in that account, every claimant is cut down to a pro rata share. The forward-looking Settled Rent is not paid out of that fund and is not limited by it. Two deductions come off the top of the same $1,739,811 before claimants are paid: Lead Counsel may ask the court for a fee award of up to 33.33% of the settlement amount — roughly $580,000 — plus out-of-pocket expenses, and for a class representative incentive award of up to $7,500. The money available for refunds is therefore materially less than $1.74 million. A further deduction is personal rather than class-wide: any rent a tenant still owes the landlord is subtracted from that tenant's refund and remitted to the landlord, and a rent payment plan entered into before final judgment is accelerated and treated the same way. If what you owe exceeds your overcharge, no distribution is made at all and the arrears remain payable. Rent forgiven under public-health-emergency legislation is not deducted, and a tenant who disputes a claimed deduction has 45 days from notice to object. Where two or more people signed the same lease, that lease term's refund is divided equally among them and only the cotenants who file are paid. Claims for treble damages and any other punitive damages, fines, or interest beyond the 9% are waived. No payment date has been announced; distribution follows final approval and the expiry or resolution of any appeal.

Last reviewed: September 27, 2026 | Information verified from court records and official settlement documents.

Frequently Asked Questions