*1 Plaintiff Johanna Marra (“Johanna”) demanded that Defendant Eric Nazzaro (“Eric”) pay her thousands of dollars for expenditures that she made during their romantic relationship. Eric refused, so Johanna sued him. The Court held a trial on November 13, 2017 to resolve*2
the matter. Although much of the testimony conflicted, the court finds the facts as follows.1The relationship between Johanna and Eric began in October 2013. The previous July, Eric had purchased a duplex in Cohoes, which he described as “a fixer upper.” Eric rented the upstairs and he and Johanna moved in downstairs. Over the course of the next four plus years, the two lived as a committed and intimate couple, but never solemnized their relationship by taking marital vows.As noted, the house needed repairs. Eric and his friend (who labored for free) worked to upgrade the home and Johanna paid for tools and supplies. For one room, the bathroom, the couple had different visions. Johanna wanted a “fancy bathroom;” Eric wanted a low-cost one. He told Johanna that if she desired a fancy bathroom she would have to use her money to pay for it — which she did in the approximate amount of $6,900. Additionally, Johanna did not like two trees that fronted the property so she paid $2,500 to have them removed.There was no expectation that Eric would repay Johanna, rather the expectation was an enduring relationship. She happily paid for the house’s improvement; her hope was that someday the sale of the house would provide the money for her and Eric to move to Florida. She was in love and so much so that she never saw the end coming — but it came.One day in the beginning of May 2017, Eric told Johanna he was going fishing, but he wasn’t — he was leaving her for another woman. When Johanna returned home that evening, she found a note explaining that the relationship was over. Several days later a mutual friend of Johanna and Eric called an armistice and convened a meeting of the three of them. At that meeting, Eric told Johanna that she could stay at the house until November 1, 2017 and that he would pay her several thousand dollars for the money that she spent to improve the house.After the meeting, things did not go so well. Johanna wanted Eric to reduce his pledge to writing, acknowledging that he would repay her $7,000. Eric’s want of alacrity (or plain unwillingness) to formalize an agreement triggered Johanna to pester him constantly with texts and calls. By August, Eric sought and received an order of protection from the Albany County Family Court. The order, in practical effect, evicted Johanna from Eric’s house.Johanna wants to recover the money she spent on the bathroom, the money she spent removing the trees and the money she spent on general expenses. These expenses were
