David Copperfield Sued by N.Y.C. Condo Board for Over $2.5M for Allegedly ‘Trashing' Manhattan Penthouse

Mar. 15, 2025

David Copperfieldhas been hit with a lawsuit seeking over $2.5 million to repair damage to a New York City condominium he owns.

In the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, Aug. 6, the board of managers of the Galleria Condominium — a luxury high-rise located on East 57th Street — claim that the magician “trashed” his unit in the building before abandoning it in 2018.

Copperfield, 67, first purchased the N.Y.C. condo in 1997 before transferring ownership to Sky Tower, a Nevada shell company he owns, the following year, according to the lawsuit.

The board alleges that the star left the “formerly pristine” condo — the largest in the building, located on the 54th floor — in such a “state of utter disrepair” that it requires $2.5 million in damages to repair the unit, as well as neighboring units and the building.

Supreme Court of the State of New York

On a “cosmetic level,” the board claims that the state of the condo “plainly violates” the building’s upkeep requirements. They included photos of severe damage to the unit’s carpeting, walls, ceiling, bathtub and more.

A representative for Copperfield claims that these photographs do not “reflect the current state of the apartment,” however.

David Copperfield is facing a lawsuit for “trashing” a NYC condo.Supreme Court of the State of New York; Gary Gershoff/Getty

Supreme Court of the State of New York; Gary Gershoff/Getty

“This is a simple insurance claim,” the rep said in a statement to PEOPLE. “The photographs included in the lawsuit don’t reflect the current state of the apartment. This is a court matter and will be handled in court.”

In the lawsuit, the condo board also claims that the damages to Copperfield’s unit go far beyond the surface level, stating that “the level of dilapidation and decay in Copperfield’s Unit far exceeds a purely cosmetic issue.”

The more extreme damages include what architects have called “unrepaired water damage that is so severe that it presents risks to the ‘concrete structure of the building,’ ” the lawsuit alleges.

This water damage has also “facilitated the growth of mold and mildew, and actively endangers other apartments in the building,” the lawsuit continues to claim.

The board also alleges that Copperfield “caused a valve that exclusively services his Unit to fail, resulting in approximately $2,500,000 of damages to the Condominium’s common elements and elevator systems.”

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The magician “refuses to take these issues seriously,” only doing “band-aid repairs of the cosmetic issues,” the board claims, adding that his “motivation to trash his own apartment and permit it to decay is entirely unclear, especially when he still owns the Unit and is marketing it for sale.”

David Copperfield.Gary Gershoff/Getty

Gary Gershoff/Getty

The filling also includes claims about the magician’s “tumultuous” history in the condo, before he permanently moved out in 2018.

It claims that the magician has been “a far cry from a model resident,” citing several incidents, including a rooftop pool bursting in 2015 due to “illegal and ineffective” plumbing fixtures, which reportedly caused flooding throughout 30 stories.

“In typical fashion, Copperfield refuses to confront the consequences of his actions and denies all responsibility for the damage he has caused to the building and his former neighbors,” the lawsuit alleges.

source: people.com