Tuesday, September 25, 2012

TV Cop Sues Co-Op; Says Management's Failure To Properly Fix Leaks Turned Her $1.2M Home Into Moldy Death Trap

In New York City, the New York Post reports:
  • Chung-chung. In the civil justice system, there are lawsuits. This is a “Law & Order” star’s lawsuit. S. Epatha Merkerson, who played Lt. Anita Van Buren on the TV series for 16 years, is suing the managers of her Washington Heights co-op, claiming they have turned her $1.2 million apartment into a moldy death trap.

    Soon after she got in The Riviera, at West 157th Street and Riverside Drive, in 2002, the co-op board and managers told the actress her roof was “in peril of collapsing” and had to be fixed, the suit says.

    She had to clear out for almost a year as a result and the repairs didn’t fix the leaks, which had caused mold growth, it alleges. And, in 2008, the building sealed off the ventilation to her stove without telling her, leaving her “in jeopardy of her life,” the suit says.

    The suit seeks an order to force the building to fix the leaks and more than $2 million in damages. Building manager Midboro Management didn’t return a call for comment.