Magician David Copperfield sued for allegedly trashing $7M NYC penthouse: 'A state of utter disrepair'
David Copperfield is facing a lawsuit filed by the condo board of his New York City apartment, which has accused him of trashing his penthouse unit after he "abandoned" it around 2018, allowing it to "devolve into a state of utter disrepair."
The property is worth a reported $7 million.
"Copperfield’s motivation to trash his own apartment and permit it to decay is entirely unclear, especially when he still owns the Unit and is marketing it for sale," the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital said. "On a cosmetic level, the state of Copperfield’s Unit plainly violates the requirements under the Condominium’s By-Laws that all units be kept in a ‘first-class condition’ and a ‘good state of preservation and cleanliness.’ However, the level of dilapidation and decay in Copperfield’s Unit far exceeds a purely cosmetic issue."
A rep for Copperfield told FOX Business: "This is a simple insurance claim. 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."
The lawsuit alleged that architects had warned the condo board that the magician’s 54th-floor unit with views of Central Park and Manhattan’s east side had "unrepaired water damage that is so severe that it presents risks to the ‘concrete structure of the building." The lawsuit also alleged that the property had growth of mold and mildew, endangering other apartments in the building.
The condo board claimed that the 67-year-old has refused to take the issues seriously and has only made cosmetic repairs to his apartment at Galleria Condominium on 57th Street in Manhattan, "leaving the serious subsurface problems in his Unit to worsen – to the detriment of the health, safety, and well-being of his fellow unit owners."
The lawsuit also alleged that Copperfield caused a valve to fail in his apartment, which is mostly serviced by its own mechanical equipment, resulting in $2.5 million in damage. It added that Copperfield is required to maintain the equipment that is exclusive to his apartment.
"In typical fashion, Copperfield refuses to confront the consequences of his actions and denies all responsibility for the damage he has caused to the building and his former neighbors," the lawsuit said. "Thus, the Board brings this action for specific performance – to compel Copperfield to repair the dangerous, unacceptable, and unsanitary conditions in the Unit – and for monetary damages resulting from the failed valve."
It added that the "equipment does not service the rest of the building, so it stands to reason that it should be (and, contractually, is) the owner of the Unit’s obligation to repair and maintain. And because of the Unit’s position at the top of the Condominium, maintenance of the Mechanical Equipment is not only critical to ensure the standard of living within the Unit itself, but it is also paramount to ensure the safety of the Condominium’s other units and common elements."
Copperfield bought the condo for $7.4 million in 1997 and purportedly transferred ownership of the unit to Sky Tower, a Nevada corporation of "which Copperfield purports to be the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and sole Director," the lawsuit said, claiming that the corporation is "nothing more than an instrumentality of Copperfield’s and his alter ego."
It added: "The distinction between Sky Tower and Copperfield is no less illusory than one of Copperfield’s magic tricks. Sky Tower conducts no business, collects no rents, and participates in no form of commerce. To the extent that it has separate accounts, Copperfield – individually – is the sole source of those funds."
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After he bought the apartment, Copperfield filled it with "novelties" like classic arcade games, fortune-telling machines, and "more bizarre items like ‘hazing devices’ apparently used by various fraternities during the turn of the century."
In 2015, Copperfield’s rooftop swimming pool burst "due to his use of illegal and ineffective plastic plumbing fixtures," causing damage to the building's elevator systems and as far down as the 30 floors below him, the lawsuit claimed.
The lawsuit included photos that showed paint and plaster peeling off the walls and ceiling as well as a stained bathtub and stains on the carpeting.
An architecture firm that assessed Copperfield’s apartment allegedly told the board that "damage to the exterior elements of the Unit" showed "severe water damage that could result in damage to other apartments, damage to the ‘concrete structure of the building,’ and energy loss," irregular temperature control that threatens to the building’s structural elements, pipes at rick of bursting and inadequate gas leak protection.
The lawsuit claimed that Copperfield fired all of his maintenance staff when he "abandoned" the building in 2018.
The board estimated nearly $3 million in damage after Copperfield caused a "cascade of water to damage other units" after a valve failure.
"Copperfield has refused to accept any responsibility for the damage he has caused to the Condominium," the suit reiterated.
The board added that it didn’t know the full extent of the damage to his apartment because the "level of decay that Copperfield has permitted to occur in his Unit has likely penetrated to a subsurface level."
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The board estimated the damage to the apartment will be in excess of $2.5 million and has also asked for punitive damages as well as costs and attorneys’ fees in connection with the dispute.