Justin Theroux joined colleagues from his Greenwich Village co-op in court Thursday in an attempt to oust their “annoying” neighbor from the building — the latest chapter in an ugly legal saga between the actor and a real estate attorney who lives on the floor. under the.
Theroux, 52, and the rest of the co-op board are urging a Manhattan judge to order the eviction of Norman Resnicow and his wife Barbara after what the “Mulholland Drive” actor called a campaign of harassment that erupted in 2015 when he and his then-wife Jennifer Aniston began a $1 million renovation on their second-floor apartment.
“This is a pretty simple case. His time at the co-op has come to an end,” Joshua Kopelowitz, an attorney for Theroux and his fellow board members at 71 Washington Place, said during the hearing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“Let’s not pretend that things are going to change,” Kopelowitz said as Theroux watched in a black T-shirt, black coat and jeans from the front row of the gallery, flanked by three other members of the eight-unit cooperative. and with the rest of the residents watching from a remote video feed.
Actor Justin Theroux has been embroiled in a six-year legal battle with his downstairs neighbor. Steven Hirsch
“They won’t, and these people shouldn’t have to live like this,” Kopelowitz added, pointing to Theroux and his fellow co-op board members.
Among Theroux’s lurid accusations in a 2017 lawsuit was that Resnicow, who lives with his wife on the first floor of the building, trespassed on the actor’s property, peeped through his windows and killed the ivy growing on their shared terrace, simply because he knew Theroux. I liked the plants.
Meanwhile, Resnicow claimed in his own 2017 lawsuit, filed shortly after the end of Theroux’s HBO show, “The Leftovers,” that the actor’s allegations are “as fictitious as the television series in which he recently starred.”
The courts have largely ruled in favor of Theroux.
Theroux and his fellow board members at 71 Washington Pl. have voted to oust the Resnicows from the building.
In August, another Manhattan judge found that the actor had “established as a matter of law” that Resnicow’s behavior toward him amounted to a “private nuisance.”
The ruling paved the way for the actor to receive damages in a trial in which he is seeking $4.58 million.
Thursday’s hearing came as part of separate litigation filed by the co-op board in February 2022 seeking to oust the Resnicows from the building.
Theroux and his fellow board members also want the couple to pay the cost of the board’s legal fees during the years of construction rampage.
Resnicow, a real estate attorney, claimed in his own lawsuit that Theroux’s allegations were as “fictitious” as his television shows. Steven Hirsch
Meanwhile, Resnicow’s attorney, Peter Levine, walked around the courtroom Thursday and made aggressive hand gestures as he argued that the case should be dismissed.
He argued that the board had violated its own procedural statutes because its “secretary” had not specifically notified Resnicow and his wife that the board planned to fire them.
But Judge Joel Cohen didn’t seem convinced.
“Counsel, what was the purpose of the notification requirement?” Cohen asked the lawyer.
“For notice,” Levine responded.
“And your clients received notice?” Then the judge asked.
“That’s irrelevant!” Levine responded, raising his voice.
Norman Resnicow, who is at risk of being evicted from his building, shields his face in a Manhattan courtroom. Steven Hirsch
Then the judge seemed to roll his eyes.
Levine also said Theroux at some point sent an email about Resnicow in which he threatened to “blow my lawyers’ heads off.”
“Justin hates Norman,” Levine added, dramatically extending his index finger toward Theroux as if he were a prosecutor presenting his case in front of a jury.
Kopelwitz, the attorney for Theroux and the board, accused Resnicow during the hearing of interfering with board-approved work on the building’s roof and telling workers that Theroux was his “archenemy.”
“Who says ‘archenemy’? Who lives in a building and says ‘archenemy’? said the lawyer.
Among Theroux’s claims is that Resnicow leaned out of his windows and destroyed plants on a terrace shared by the apartments.
“When we look at this with clear eyes, the cooperative board has the right to have a community,” Kopelwitz added.
Theroux, who was wearing Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses, declined to comment on his departure from the courthouse.
Resnicow also declined to comment.
The judge said he would issue a written ruling on the matter at an unspecified later date.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn