David Copperfield may be a master illusionist, but no amount of magic will make this mess go away.
A new lawsuit filed against Copperfield claims the famed magician is a negligent neighbor who left his luxury New York City penthouse in such disrepair that it threatened the building’s structural integrity.
The suit, worth US$2.5 million (C$3.4 million), was filed by the board of directors of the Galleria Condominium, a 55-story luxury building in midtown Manhattan.
The board alleges that after Copperfield purchased the condo in 1997 for about $7.4 million, he filled it with arcade games, fortune telling machines and other items such as “hazing devices apparently used by various fraternities during the turn of the century.”
Photos included in the filing show a dirty bathtub, stained carpet and chipped and deteriorating walls and ceilings. The board claims Copperfield failed to properly maintain and upkeep the unit and let it “completely deteriorate” after she moved in in 2018.
The bathtub in David Copperfield’s abandoned apartment, which has been empty since 2018.
New York Supreme Court
“Instead of moving out in a safe and orderly manner, Copperfield destroyed the unit,” the suit states. “Since then, Copperfield has allowed the unit to completely deteriorate.”
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“In fact, the architects have warned the Condominium that, among other things, Copperfield’s apartment contains unrepaired water damage that is so severe that it poses risks to the ‘concrete structure of the building,’ facilitates the growth of mold and mildew, and actively endangers other apartments.”
Significant damage to roof and walls.
New York Supreme Court
Copperfield still owns the penthouse, despite having transferred ownership to a shell company he owned shortly after purchasing it.
The suit also accuses the 67-year-old of causing damage not only to his own “previously immaculate multi-level penthouse,” but also to the homes of other tenants. According to the suit, after his rooftop pool burst in 2015 as a result of “illegal and ineffective” plastic plumbing, torrents of water damaged condos on the 30 floors below.
Last December, a valve reportedly failed in the then-abandoned unit, sending more water into other condos, hallways and the building’s elevator shaft.
Extensive stains and damage to condo carpets.
New York Supreme Court
Because the unit is so large, the complaint says, it has its own heating, ventilation, hot water and electrical systems. Other tenants do not use the equipment, and building bylaws place the responsibility for maintenance and repair of those systems on the unit’s owner.
His motivation for destroying his own apartment, the complaint says, and allowing it to deteriorate “is not entirely clear, especially since he still owns the unit and is marketing it for sale.”
More damage is seen on the roofs.
New York Supreme Court
A Copperfield representative told the New York Post that the issues boil down to “A simple insurance claim“and that the photographs in the lawsuit “do not reflect the current state of the apartment.”
The condo board says an architectural firm hired to assess the damage this year “confirmed (its) worst fears.” However, it says, Copperfield had only addressed cosmetic issues with “temporary repairs.”
“Several of the most significant and dangerous issues, such as subsoil decay and damage, structural stability and mold growth, remain unaddressed.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
