Covid-19 extortion by tenant

[Patrick M.]

Not sure if this was mentioned here... The lesson from this is that the landlord should have evicted in January. I hope that more of the "wait and see" landlords are learning from these moratoriums. Don't sit on your rights!

"TOMS RIVER - A winter tenant at a Long Beach Island home tried to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to get a free summer at the beach house and attempted to extort $5,000 from his landlords, an attorney for the landlords alleged in court filings.

But, in what attorney Kelsey A. McGuckin-Anthony believes to be one of the first such cases in the state during the existing public health emergency, a Superior Court judge in Ocean County ordered the tenant evicted so that his landlords could proceed with plans to rent to vacationers.

In ordering Anthony R. Castrovinci evicted from Fred and Alisha Dumont’s rental property on Central Avenue in Surf City on Long Beach Island last week, Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson Jr. pointed out that Gov. Phil Murphy’s emergency order halting evictions during the pandemic does not apply to seasonal tenants.

Hodgson, in an order dated July 2, also said that Castrovinci “must be removed in the interest of justice,’’ qualifying as an exception to the governor’s order placing evictions on hold.

McGuckin-Anthony, who represents the Dumonts, filed a civil suit against Castrovinci and an emergency application for eviction on June 26.

The lawsuit and supporting documents were filed in the Chancery Division of Superior Court about a week after Castrovinci told his landlords he would only leave the premises if they paid him $5,000, McGuckin-Anthony alleged in her court filing.

That was despite the fact that Castrovinci’s lease had expired on March 31, and he hadn’t paid rent to the landlords since January, the lawsuit alleged. Castrovinci, when making his demand for $5,000, also told the landlords he had somewhere else he could go to live, the suit said.

The lawsuit accuses Castrovinci of extortion, trespass, breach of contract, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and interference with prospective economic advantage.

Castrovinci has not filed an answer to the lawsuit. He did not participate in a virtual court hearing held before Hodgson on June 30, McGuckin-Anthony said. A document filed by McGuckin-Anthony indicated she informed Castrovinci of the hearing by text messages after she tried to reach him by phone and learned that his voice mailbox had not been set up.

McGuckin-Anthony’s court filing said Castrovinci returned one of her missed phone calls, but hung up on her when she asked for an email address to send court documents.

The Asbury Park Press also tried to reach Castrovinci by phone and received the same message that his voice mailbox was not set up.

The Dumonts had to cancel “numerous rental contracts,’’ for April, May and June, suffering irreparable harm to their reputation as landlords in the small, seaside town as a result of Castrovinci’s refusal to leave, the lawsuit said. They also have a number of rental agreements for the rest of the summer, it said. The couple rents the home weekly, bi-weekly or monthly during the summer months, it said.

McGuckin-Anthony could not say how much her clients normally would receive in rent for the property during the summer, noting differences in the rental periods, but she said in her court papers that her clients have lost “a significant amount of income’’ from canceled contracts and Castrovinci’s failure to pay rent.

In addition to the Dumonts, the people who were scheduled to rent the home during the period Castrovinci refused to leave also suffered, McGuckin-Anthony said.

“There were a lot of people impacted by this guy’s refusal to leave, using the governor’s executive order to take advantage of my clients,’’ she said.

Castrovinci’s rent was $1,000 a month through March 31, and that included up to $400 in utilities and internet and cable television service, according to his lease. He moved in on Dec. 15 and paid $500 rent for the remainder of December, according to the suit.

“Defendant has not only breached the lease agreement by failing to make rental payment due on Feb. 1st and March 1st, but defendant has also failed to vacate the property and make any rental payments for the time he has failed to vacate the property beyond the lease terms,’’ the lawsuit said.

“‘It was a situation where he was trying to use an executive order to get a free season at the beach,’’ McGuckin-Anthony said.

In court papers, McGuckin-Anthony explained why state law and the governor’s executive order does not afford equal protection to seasonal renters.

“If the owner of a seasonal property had to go through the process of eviction through the landlord/tenant court, seasonal property owners would have to cancel numerous contracts,’’ McGuckin-Anthony wrote. “This would give an unfair advantage to seasonal renters, who would essentially be able to enjoy a vacation without paying, while the property owner suffers monetary and irreparable harm.

“With the height of the summer rental season upon us, weekly renters could overstay their contract, knowing full well the backlog that Courts are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic,’’ she wrote. “A one-week rental could turn into a summer-long vacation at the beach, while the property owner is forced to cancel contracts, loss of income (sic) and ruin relationships with renters from previous years.’’

Murphy’s executive order placing a moratorium on evictions during the public health emergency specifically excludes any “hotel, motel, or guest house, or part thereof, rented to a transient guest or seasonal tenant.’’

The Dumonts have advertised their rental property as the Beach Buoy House, according to court papers. Their cancellation of rental agreements because of Castrovinci’s refusal to leave ‘’has led to backlash from renters, as well as the likelihood of negative reviews on Plaintiff’s listing on Air B&B, as well as ruined relationships with past renters,’’ McGuckin-Anthony wrote in the lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs have been told by those renters whose contracts have been cancelled that they would not be renting from Plaintiffs in the future,’’ the court papers said. “At least two of those cancelled contracts were with renters who have rented from Plaintiffs for years prior to this year.’’

McGuckin-Anthony said that after the judge issued his order, her clients were able to get Castrovinci out of the premises in time for renters to occupy the house for a vacation beginning July 4.

“I’m really happy I was able to get a result for them, and the people who did not have to have their vacation canceled,’ she said.

With Castrovinci out of the house, the Dumonts still are proceeding with their lawsuit, which seeks compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees.