Famed magician David Copperfield is being sued for neglecting his upscale Manhattan condo and allegedly leaving it in such despair that it has caused over $2 million in damages to the building and neighboring units. The board of the Galleria Condominium, a luxurious 55-story complex on East 57th St, filed the $2.5 million lawsuit on Tuesday.
It says that Copperfield purchased the condo in 1997 for about $7.4 million, but transferred ownership to a shell company he owns shortly after buying it. The suit alleges that he packed the unit with fortune-telling machines, arcade games, and other items like "hazing devices apparently used by various fraternities during the turn of the century.
" The board says he failed to properly maintain the unit and let it "devolve into a state of complete dilapidation" after moving out in 2018. Photos included in the lawsuit show paint chipping from the walls, ceilings and windowsill, a filthy carpet, and a dirty and stained bathtub. A representative for Copperfield told The New York Post that "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 representative said, calling it a "simple insurance claim." The lawsuit documents some of Copperfield's alleged neglect. In 2015, it says his rooftop pool burst because he allegedly used illegal and ineffective plumbing fixtures.
It caused units as far as 30 stories below to flood as well as the building's e.