From the New York Law Journal, this story about a problematic vacation home, a lawsuit and $150,000.
Source: Court Finds Renter of Vacation Home Can Seek $150,000 | New York Law Journal begins:
The renter of a Sag Harbor vacation home has been granted the right to sue for all four years of rent she has paid to her landlord—nearly $150,000—by a state judge in Suffolk County earlier this month.
Tenant Deborah Schwartz had brought a pro se action in May 2013, claiming the heating system in her waterfront cottage was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Sandy, which struck seven months earlier.
Schwartz had prepaid the year’s $3,000-per-month rent for the Southampton vacation home and initially demanded it be refunded, claiming the one-bedroom cottage was uninhabitable and violated town code and safety regulations.
When I read “pro se”, i.e., Schwartz filed the lawsuit on her own behalf, I thought, gee. Didn’t she have the money to retain a lawyer? Then I read on and learned that Schwartz is herself a lawyer. OK.
Anyhow, if you click on the link, you’ll see a very nice photograph of … the courthouse where this case was heard. (I mean, can’t we get a photo of the vacation home?)