Justin Theroux joined fellow Greenwich Village co-ops in court Thursday in a bid to get their “nuisance” neighbors removed from the building — the latest chapter in an ugly legal saga between the actor and a real estate attorney who lives below him.
Theroux, 52, and the entire co-op board urged a Manhattan judge to order Norman Resnicow and his wife Barbara evicted after what the “Mulholland Drive” actor called a campaign of harassment that erupted in 2015 when he and his wife Jennifer Aniston began a $1 million renovation at his apartment is on the second floor.
“This is a pretty dry case. Their time at the cooperative is over,” Joshua Kopelowitz, an attorney for Theroux and his fellow board members at 71 Washington Place, said during the Manhattan Supreme Court hearing.
“Let’s not pretend that things are going to change,” Kopelowitz said as Theroux looked on in a black T-shirt, black coat and jeans from the first row of the gallery, flanked by three other members of the eight-unit cooperative. and with other residents watching from a remote video feed.
Actor Justin Theroux has been locked in a six-year legal battle with his downstairs neighbor Steven Hirsch
“They won’t, and these people shouldn’t live like this,” Kopelowitz added, gesturing to Theroux and members of his co-op’s board of directors.
Among Theroux’s chilling allegations in a 2017 lawsuit is that Resnicow, who lives with his wife on the first floor of the building, trespassed on the actor’s property, peered into his window and killed ivy growing on their shared roof terrace — simply because he knew Theroux liked plants .
Meanwhile, Resnicow claimed in his own 2017 lawsuit — filed shortly after the climax of Theroux’s HBO show “The Leftovers” — that the actor’s accusations were “fictional like the television series he recently starred in.”
The court has ruled largely in favor of Theroux.
Theroux and his board members at 71 Washington Pl. had voted to evict the Resnicows from the building.
In August, a separate Manhattan judge found that the actress had “established as a matter of law” that Resnicow’s behavior toward her was a “personal nuisance.”
The ruling paves the way for the actor to potentially be awarded damages at trial where he is seeking $4.58 million.
Thursday’s hearing comes as part of separate litigation filed by the co-op board in February 2022 that seeks to evict the Resnicows from the building.
Theroux and his board members also want the couple to pay the board’s legal fees during the years-long building brouhaha.
Resnicow, a real estate attorney, claims in his own lawsuit that Theroux’s claims are as “fictional” as his TV show.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 tossed.
He argued that the board violated its own procedural law because its “secretary” did not specifically tell Resnicow and his wife that the board planned to boot them.
But Judge Joel Cohen seemed less convinced.
“Lawyer, what is the purpose of the notice requirement?” Cohen asked the lawyer.
“To get attention,” Levine replied.
“And did your client get notice?” the judge then asked.
“That’s irrelevant!” Levine responded, raising his voice.
Norman Resnicow, who faces eviction from his building, shields his face in Manhattan court.Steven Hirsch
The judge then appeared to roll his eyes.
Levine also said that Theroux at one point sent an email about Resnicow in which he threatened to “smash his head in with my lawyer.”
“Justin hates Norman,” Levine added, dramatically extending his index finger at Theroux as if he were a prosecutor making his case in front of a jury.
Kopelwitz, the attorney for Theroux and the board, accused Resnicow during the trial of interfering with board-approved work on the building’s roof — and telling workers that Theroux was his “main enemy.”
“Who said ‘main enemy’? Who lives in the building and says ‘main enemy’?” said the lawyer.
Among Theroux’s claims was that Resnicow had peered into his window and destroyed plants on the apartment’s shared deck.
“When we look at this with clear eyes, the cooperative board has a right to have a community,” Kopelwitz added.
A Ray-Ban aviator wearing sunglasses Theroux declined to comment on his trip out of court.
Resnicow also declined to comment.
The judge said he would issue a written decision on the matter at an unspecified later date.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
