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Lawyer's Bid to Foreclose on Girlfriend's Condo Rejected
New York Law Journal
September 21, 2009
The New York Court of Appeals Thursday affirmed an Appellate Division, 1st Department, holding that a lawyer should not be allowed to foreclose on a condo he said he bought for his girlfriend/future wife before she discovered he was married to another woman.
In an unsigned memorandum ruling, the court unanimously also said Radiah K. Givens had stated a prima facie case of fraudulent inducement to marriage against Joseph I. Rosenzweig.
The appeals panel had ruled against granting Rosenzweig summary judgment before discovery was conducted.
The 3-1 majority noted the "highly unusual circumstances of this case" and the outstanding questions over whether the $285,300 used to buy the condo was a loan or a gift.
The couple's relationship soured about three years after the purchase of the Greenwich Village apartment in 2002. Around the same time, Rosenzweig's wife discovered he was married to a third woman.
