This is all about how the owner of a Chelsea loft is suing his ex-tenant, Arianna Huffington, for a “$275G apt. trashing.” The hard copy headline is: Huff’s Rough Stuff.
Not bad, huh?
Actually, this article should be some sort of test for law students. Whom do you believe? Is belief in a client important? Can you defend a client when you don’t trust the story? Did she (or her kids) trash the place? Did her landlord, Eric Steel, renew her lease twice and visit the apartment “multiple times”?
He says this, she says that.
He says he had to replace a bloodstained mattress. Oooh. Where’s the body?
She does have a good line, though: “Every single claim in this suit is false except the square footage and the address.” Although she is sort of adapting a line from either Mary McCarthy or Lillian Helman, I can’t remember which one, but it did involve a defamation lawsuit, if I remember.
And, I must point out, most owners and brokers will not give out square footage numbers because too many people have lied about square footage and too many people have sued over missing square footage, so if she says he was accurate about the square footage, this is a point in his favor. I mean, everybody lies about square footage and if she says he didn’t, she’s sort of supporting his general veracity, isn’t she?
He does have some leverage. He’s “refused to return her $93,000 security deposit.”
Wait: a $93,000 security deposit???
Oh, sorry, that $$number definitely pulled me off on a tangent. Here’s the story: Arianna Huffington trashed rented Chelsea loft, leaving gouged walls and a bloodied mattress, claims lawsuit – NY Daily News.