NEW YORK CITY-MetLife Inc., developer and former owner of the Peter Cooper Village-Stuyvesant Town apartment complex on Manhattan’s East Side, and a group of Stuy-Town tenants have reached an agreement to settle their lawsuit over rent deregulation, according to a Feb. 28 SEC filing. “MTL has reached a settlement in principle with the plaintiff tenants, subject to finalizing the settlement terms and court approval,” the MetLife 2011 annual report reveals. Further details were not disclosed at press time.

Tenants of the 11,200-unit apartment complex filed a lawsuit in 2007 against MetLife and Tishman Speyer Properties, which led a joint venture that paid $5.4 billion for the complex in 2006, claiming that the companies deregulated apartments while receiving J-51 tax abatements. The state’s highest court ruled in favor of the tenants, who reportedly seek more than $200 million in damages, in October 2009.

In November of last year, GlobeSt.com reported that the New York State Appeals Court affirmed a lower court ruling dictating that MetLife had to pay damages to the tenants for improperly raising rents. The tenants took the stance that they were to remain subject to rent stabilization for the duration of the time that MetLife was receiving J-51 tax benefits.