David Copperfield Sued for $2.5 Million Over 'Trashed' NYC Condo: Photos Show Filth & Damage

David Copperfield Faces $2.5 Million Lawsuit for Allegedly Trashing Luxury Condo

Legendary magician David Copperfield is being sued by the board of the Galleria Condominium, a luxurious 55-story building in Manhattan, for allegedly neglecting his upscale apartment and causing over $2 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges Copperfield bought the condo in 1997 for $7.4 million but transferred ownership to a shell company he owns shortly after.

The suit claims that Copperfield filled the apartment with "fortune-telling machines, arcade games, and other items like "hazing devices apparently used by various fraternities during the turn of the century." He is accused of failing to maintain the unit after moving out in 2018, allowing it to "devolve into a state of complete dilapidation."

Photos submitted to court show the apartment's alleged state of disrepair, including:

• Paint chipping from the walls, ceilings and windowsill
• A filthy carpet
• A dirty and stained bathtub

The lawsuit claims that Copperfield's negligence resulted in:

• A burst rooftop pool in 2015 due to allegedly illegal plumbing fixtures, flooding units as far as 30 stories below.
• Years of ignored window repairs, threatening the stability of the building.
• Abandoning the condo in 2018, stripping it of furniture and fixtures.

The board hired a company to assess the damage, which found severe water damage, mold, and mildew throughout the unit. The company concluded that the condo "pose[s] potential safety and health hazards and should not remain within an occupied building."

The board is seeking over $2.5 million in damages, alleging Copperfield caused an estimated $1.9 million worth of damage to the building's elevators and upwards of $1 million worth of damage to other units. Copperfield's representative told The New York Post that "the photographs included in the lawsuit don’t reflect the current state of the apartment." They called the lawsuit a "simple insurance claim" that will be handled in court.

The condo board's lawsuit paints a picture of a once luxurious apartment left in a state of neglect. It remains to be seen how the case will unfold, but one thing is clear: the magic has disappeared from this Manhattan condo.