David Copperfield is not having the best of times at the moment. An abuse lawsuit brought against him by 16 women recently came to light, and now a lawsuit over the demolition of a luxury Manhattan apartment is in court.
The once most famous magician in the world is now accompanied by one scandal after another. In May, a lawsuit was published, according to which the illusionist allegedly sexually harassed 16 women over the years, more than half of whom were not of legal age at the time of the incident. And now Copperfield has another lawsuit on his neck. This time he is being sued by the board of the Galleria Condominium – the luxury high-rise on East 57th Street in Manhattan, in which the magician bought an apartment years ago.
In 1997 to be precise, and its price then should have been 170 million crowns. Copperfield was to transfer ownership to his company a year later and leave the apartment in 2018. According to the pictures, however, the luxurious penthouse looks as if at least a hurricane has passed through it. And in this state the magician had to leave the apartment. The board is suing Copperfield for $57.5 million to renovate the apartment, which currently exhibits “dangerous, unacceptable and unsanitary conditions.”
The money is also needed to repair neighboring apartments due to mold and also the entire building, because the apartment is said to be in a truly “distressed state”. According to the board of directors, the apartment also had “unrepaired water damage, which is so serious that it poses a risk to the concrete structure of the building”. The lawsuit alleges that in 2015, the rooftop pool allegedly burst and water heated 30 apartments, or that the magician overloaded the apartment with fortune telling machines and other heavy items.
However, a representative for David Copperfield said that “the photographs contained in the lawsuit do not correspond to the current condition of the apartment. This is a judicial matter and will be dealt with in court”. It is said that this will be a simple insurance claim.
