The Galleria, a condominium on East 57th Street, has accused the 67-year-old magician of causing approximately $3 million in damages to his own penthouse and other residents' homes.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, claims that Copperfield, who is recognized as the world's highest-paid magician, has left his apartment in a deplorable state. The motivation behind the magician's alleged negligence remains unclear, especially considering he still owns the unit and is reportedly marketing it for sale. "His motivation to destroy his own apartment and permit it to decay is entirely unclear, especially when he still owns the Unit and is marketing it for sale," the complaint states.
The lawsuit further alleges that Copperfield's actions have resulted in potential health hazards and physical decay, yet he "refuses to confront the consequences of his actions and denies all responsibility for the damage he has caused to the building and his former neighbors."
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Born David Kotkin in Metuchen, New Jersey, Copperfield began his career in magic at the age of 12 under the stage name "Davino, the Boy Magician." Over the years, he has won 21 Emmy Awards, been named a King of Magic by the Society of American Magicians, and received the Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress. According to The Independent, Copperfield owns 11 private islands and his image graces postage stamps in countries including Guyana, Dominica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He has also faced accusations of sexual assault, which he vehemently denied, and has been linked to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Copperfield's 15,000 square-foot quadruplex, located on the 54th floor of The Galleria, includes an indoor pool and was originally combined from two penthouses into a single "dreamhouse" by General Motors heir Stewart Rawlings Mott in the mid-1970s. The Galleria made headlines in 1991 when Eric Clapton's 4-year-old son tragically fell to his death from an open window on the 53rd floor.
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Joshua Stricoff, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of The Galleria, declined to add any further comments beyond what was already stated in the complaint. Copperfield does not have a lawyer listed in civil court filings, and his publicist and previous attorneys have not responded to requests for comment.
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Copperfield purchased the unit in 1997 for $7.4 million. The complaint states that the residence is so large it requires its own dedicated heating, ventilation, electrical, and hot water systems. As these systems are not shared with other tenants, the condo bylaws place the responsibility for their maintenance and repair on the apartment's owner.
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The lawsuit describes Copperfield's tenure in the building as "tumultuous," alleging that he filled the penthouse with various novelties, including fortune-telling machines, classic arcade games, and bizarre items like "hazing devices" used by fraternities during the turn of the century.
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The complaint alleges that Copperfield's actions have been a significant and ongoing issue, with incidents including a private elevator violation in 2009 that resulted in penalties and fines for the condominium board. In 2015, Copperfield's indoor pool burst due to the use of "illegal and ineffective plastic plumbing fixtures," causing water damage to elevators and apartments up to 30 stories below. In 2017, Copperfield allegedly ignored required window repairs for years, bringing the condominium to the brink of litigation.
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The situation reportedly worsened in 2018 when Copperfield abandoned the unit, stripping it of its furniture and fixtures. "Since then, Copperfield has let the Unit devolve into a state of complete dilapidation," the complaint states. "To say that he trashed the Unit is an understatement. The pictures of the Unit are appalling and speak for themselves."
Upon discovering the condition of Copperfield's apartment, the condo board hired an architecture firm to assess the damage. The architects' report, dated March 10, confirmed the board's worst fears, detailing severe water damage, mold and mildew growth, leaking skylights, falling debris, pipes on the verge of bursting, inadequate gas leak protection, shoddy electrical work, and "large quantities of unattended combustible materials."
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The board alleges that it sent the architects' report to Copperfield's lawyer to no avail. "In response, Copperfield at most caused band-aid repairs to be performed to some of the purely cosmetic issues identified by [the report]," the complaint states. "Several of the more significant and dangerous issues such as subsurface decay/damage, structural stability, and mold growth remain unaddressed."
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The complaint further alleges that Copperfield fired his house manager, housekeeper, and handyman, who maintained the unit's mechanicals, when he moved out in 2018. Since then, no one has looked after any of the equipment, leading to a valve failure in Copperfield's mechanical room on Dec. 27, 2023, that caused flooding throughout various apartments, elevator shafts, hallways, and beyond, requiring an estimated $3 million in repairs.
The board believes that the "level of decay that Copperfield has permitted to occur in his Unit has likely penetrated to a subsurface level." It continues to discover additional damage and reserves all rights to amend the filing to include "newly estimated repair costs arising from Copperfield's destruction of his Unit and wanton disregard of his duty of care to the Condominium, the terms of the Condominium’s governing documents, and basic decency."
The condo board is seeking a total of $7.5 million, plus yet-to-be-determined punitive damages and legal fees, insisting that "Copperfield must be held accountable for his misconduct."
