Similarly, defendants' claims suggesting that the plaintiffs stole items from the premises were lacking in credibility and proof to verify such claims. The claim for alleged payments to a contractor and service person for coming to the property and leaving were unsubstantiated and lacking in credibility, if not more. The claim for rent in March is contrary to an obvious agreement made between the parties for the plaintiffs to help move out items belonging to Brian's mother in exchange for moving in a few days earlier. Likewise is the claim for paying the moving company, especially considering the testimony by Brian that he needed someone to move into the house as soon as possible in order to cover the mortgage remaining on the property. And the claim for late fees lacks merit, as the $5 per day late fee is simply unreasonable and excessive (incredibly, Brian testified that it should have been $50 per day late, but for a clerical error). (See 943 Lexington Ave. v Niarchos, 83 Misc 2d 803, 803 [1st Dept 1975]; see also Rock v Klepper, 23 Misc 3d 1103[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 50558[U] [Plattsburgh City Ct 2009].)
Ultimately, all of the claims for damage made by the defendants were lacking in appropriate paid receipts, verification, solely based upon hearsay, or were otherwise simply not credible. (See Strenio v Grunstein, 48 Misc 3d 131[A], 2015 NY Slip Op 51047[U] [App Term, 2d Dept, 9th & 10th Jud Dists 2015]; Camacho v Paduch, 60 Misc 3d 837, 842 [Middletown City Ct 2018].){**63 Misc 3d at 915}
For all of these reasons, the plaintiffs are entitled to a return of the total amount of their security deposit.
Decision
Plaintiffs are awarded judgment in the amount of $1,000, with interest from July 31, 2018, in the amount of $33.54, along with court costs.