New York man sues ex-wife over ruined $300,000 wine collection

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

When Michael and Concetta Clarke divorced in July of last year, he got the $3 million ski house.

The 6,200-square-foot contemporary log home in Upstate New York sits on a third of an acre and boasts six bedrooms, six bathrooms, two fireplaces, a game room, a gym, a wet bar, and a chef’s kitchen, as well as climate-controlled wine storage — which has apparently become an irreconcilable flashpoint between the once-happy couple.

Now, Michael is hauling Concetta into court over the destruction of his 400-bottle wine collection, thanks to what he claims was his ex-wife’s “disinterested malevolence,” according to a lawsuit obtained by The Independent.

“Defendant… intentionally inflicted harm on Plaintiff, which resulted in… the destruction of Plaintiff’s wine collection worth $300,000, and without Defendant having any excuse or justification for her actions,” the suit alleges.

Attorney Matthew Keating, who filed the suit on behalf of Michael, did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Concetta does not have a lawyer listed in court filings, and was unable to be reached.

Michael, 45, and Concetta, 44, were married in 2005, and the Brooklyn-born pair were together nearly 20 years before parting ways, the lawsuit states.

At the time of their split, the two jointly owned the ski house in the resort town of Windham, New York, the suit explains. It cites a stipulation in which Concetta allegedly agreed to transfer her interest in the property over to Michael, within 30 days of signing the agreement, and says Michael would thus be “solely responsible for paying any and all carrying charges and costs associated” with the home, including utilities.

“Any items currently at [the home] shall belong to the Husband free and clear of any claim of the Wife,” the lawsuit goes on.

The New York State Electric & Gas service for the residence was in both of their names, and Concetta called the provider on September 5, 2023, to remove her name from the account, the suit continues. However, it contends, Concetta “simultaneously, with intent and/or negligently, also removed [Michael’s] name” from the account.

Because Michael’s name was no longer associated with the NYSEG account, he stopped receiving any communications from them about it, according to the lawsuit. Weeks later, Michael went to the house and discovered that Concetta had not only taken both of their names off of the NYSEG account, but had altogether disconnected service to the address “without providing [him] with any notice,” the lawsuit states.

The suit alleges Concetta “always knew that [Michael] stored his investment[,] approximately 400-bottle wine collection, worth approximately $300,000, above ground, inside the home… under the protection of refrigerated conditions such refrigerated conditions powered by NYSEG electric service.”

As a result of her “intentional and/or negligent actions,” Concetta “caused interruption of the power supply resulting in absence of refrigeration, including both elevation of the temperature in the storage room, and daily variation in temperature in the room where the wine collection was stored, causing the destruction of [Michael’s] wine collection,” according to the suit.

Michael is demanding a total of $600,000 from Concetta, with interest, from October 1, 2023, plus legal costs. She now has three weeks to file a formal response to the allegations.