Knowledge | Posted by Hnin Ei Khin
David Copperfield has been hit with a lawsuit seeking over $2.5 million to repair damage to a New York City condominium he owns.
In the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, Aug. 6, the board of managers of the Galleria Condominium — a luxury high-rise located on East 57th Street — claim that the magician “trashed” his unit in the building before abandoning it in 2018.
Copperfield, 67, first purchased the N.Y.C. condo in 1997 before transferring ownership to Sky Tower, a Nevada shell company he owns, the following year, according to the lawsuit.
The board alleges that the star left the “formerly pristine” condo — the largest in the building, located on the 54th floor — in such a “state of utter disrepair” that it requires $2.5 million in damages to repair the unit, as well as neighboring units and the building.
(Photos of the damages in David Copperfield's NYC condo that were provided by the condo board.Supreme Court of the State of New York)
On a “cosmetic level,” the board claims that the state of the condo “plainly violates” the building’s upkeep requirements.
They included photos of severe damage to the unit’s carpeting, walls, ceiling, bathtub and more.
A representative for Copperfield claims that these photographs do not “reflect the current state of the apartment,” however.
(David Copperfield is facing a lawsuit for "trashing" a NYC condo.Supreme Court of the State of New York; Gary Gershoff/Getty)
“This is a simple insurance claim,” the rep said in a statement to PEOPLE. “The photographs included in the lawsuit don’t reflect the current state of the apartment. This is a court matter and will be handled in court.”
In the lawsuit, the condo board also claims that the damages to Copperfield’s unit go far beyond the surface level, stating that “the level of dilapidation and decay in Copperfield’s Unit far exceeds a purely cosmetic issue.”
(Photos of the damages in David Copperfield's NYC condo that were provided by the condo board.Supreme Court of the State of New York)
The more extreme damages include what architects have called “unrepaired water damage that is so severe that it presents risks to the ‘concrete structure of the building,’ ” the lawsuit alleges. Ref: David Copperfield Sued by N.Y.C. Condo Board for Over $2.5M for Allegedly ‘Trashing' Manhattan Penthouse (people)
Photo Credit- Supreme Court of the State of New York; Gary Gershoff/Getty,
