A wealthy Manhattan law firm exec and his wife are refusing to leave their Hamptons rental, according to a lawsuit, amid claims they have turned the $5million property into something from 'an episode of Hoarders'.
Paul Pion, the chief administrative officer of the Manhattan law firm Cantor Fitzgerald, and his wife, Stephanie, have spent $10,000 a month for the past two years to rent the Water Mill property, but their lease expired on May 31, according to court documents filed in the Suffolk County Supreme Court.
The homeowner, meanwhile, found a buyer for the home, and was set to close the deal on Tuesday, but the couple are taking advantage of the eviction moratorium that prevent landlords from kicking out tenants during the pandemic, the lawsuit states.
Paul Pion and his wife, Stephanie, have been renting out a property in Water Mill for the past two years, but a court document claims their lease ended on May 31. They are pictured in an Instagram post from Stephanie Pion
The property is valued at nearly $5 million, and the homeowner has found a new buyer for it
'They aren't leaving, and it looks like an episode of 'Hoarders,' a source familiar with the situation told the New York Post, referring to a reality television show in which people fill their homes from floor to ceiling with trash and belongings.
Paul Pion adamantly denied all claims to the Post.
The wealthy couple, who reportedly have another home in Manhattan, have become a 'nuisance' - according to the lawsuit - regularly hosting large parties at the home.
Court documents claim the 'defendants are conducting themselves in a bad faith, dishonest and manipulative way to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic and the mass confusion and gridlock in the lower courts in an effort to, among other things, block the impending sale of the premises.'
'I don't understand, they have money,' the source said, noting the moratorium was meant for people who struggled financially due to the pandemic.
Last month, the New York State Legislature approved an extension of a moratorium on evictions for tenants who 'declare a financial or medical hardship' from the pandemic until August 31.
The lawsuit argues that the COVID-related moratorium on evictions 'has no bearing here since defendants have suffered no financial hardship from it.'
Court documents claim the Pions have been using the property to host large parties
The Pions have caused property damage 'due to unauthorized alterations, misuse and overuse of the household systems and lack of routine maintenance' including of the cesspool, the court documents claim, and refused to allow potential buyers to tour the home.
Once, it alleges, the Pions even removed a lawn sign saying the property was 'IN CONTRACT.'
And when a financial lender was finally let in to appraise the home, the court documents say, the expert told 'the broker that the house was a mess, and the occupant was crazy.'
The homeowner now fears that the buyer will back out of the deal, which was scheduled to close on June 15.
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