3.5-Pound Yorkie KOs NYC HOA In Eviction Suit; Failed Effort To Boot Pooch To Cost Unit Owners $100K As 'Underdog' Wins Reversal Of Lower Court Ruling

In Middle Village, Queens, the New York Post reports:

• A Queens condo board spent a whopping $100,000 during a three-year battle to evict a cute, 3.5-pound pooch named Charlie -- and in a stunning upset, the underdog scored a knockout. For those counting, the figure comes to nearly $28,600 per pound of pup.

• The teacup Yorkshire terrier is owned by Donna Forman, a 10-year resident of the Village View Condos -- a 24-unit development in Middle Village.

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• A lower court had ruled against Charlie, but the decision was overturned by the Appellate Division last week, said her lawyer, Michael Mauro, who disclosed the legal cost to the condo owners -- nearly $4,200 each.

• This wasn't Forman's first dogfight with the board. It unsuccessfully tried to oust her previous pet, Rugby -- a Shih Tzu her son inherited from grandma. Rugby died in 2006.

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• Charlie won the appeal on a TKO -- after the case turned on a technicality. The condo's bylaws say unit owners, their pets and guests shall not create a nuisance, Mauro said. By including the word "pets," he said, the rules implied that dogs that are not a nuisance are OK. The rules have since been changed to eliminate the word "pets" -- but they won't apply retroactively to Charlie, Mauro said.

For more, see Court says 'stay!' (Condo meanies waste 100G in nixed dog evict).

For the appellate court ruling, see Board of Mgrs. of Vil. View Condominium v. "Charlie the Yorkie", 2010 NY Slip Op 07877 (NY Sup. Ct., App. Div. 2nd Dept., November 3, 2010).