Judge evicts son from family home after parents sue him
Michael Rotondo claims he is owed six more months at family home
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Your support makes all the difference.A 30-year-old man has been ordered to vacate his family home by a judge, after his parents sued to get him out of their upstate New York house.
Mark and Christina Rotondo filed suit against their adult son, Michael, for refusing to vacate their home earlier this year. The younger Mr Rotondo has lived with his parents for the last eight years rent-free, and maintains that he is owed six months to find somewhere to live.
In a court appearance on Tuesday – where the self-employed millennial represented himself – a judge disagreed. State Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood issued an eviction order and told adult protective services to investigate the situation, according to Syracuse.com.
Mr Rotondo called the judge’s ruling “outrageous”.
The Rotondos sued their son after issuing him multiple written orders to move out. They started with a formal letter, then asked an attorney to draw up an eviction notice when he refused to comply.
The couple at one point gave their son $1,100 to help with the cost of a new apartment. They later offered him help finding a new apartment and money to repair his broken-down car.
All told, the couple sent their son five different notices over the course of two months.
“Michael, After a discussion with your Mother, we have decided that you must leave this house immediately,” reads a 2 February note obtained by the New York Post.
“There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you,” reads another. “Get one – you have to work!”
Mr Rotondo claims that he runs his own business, which he argued in court filings was “the overwhelmingly superior choice for [his] economic well being over the working of a full-time job”.
Asked about the details of his business in court, Mr Rotondo told reporters: "My business is my business."
Mr Rotondo also said in court filings that he did not contribute to household expenses, chores, or maintenance, calling it “simply a component of his living agreement with the petitioners”.
He told reporters that he and his parents have lived together without incident, but that they do not speak.
At the end of the hearing on Tuesday, Mr Greenwood asked the Rotondos’ lawyer to draw up an eviction order that he would sign, noting that it should give their son adequate time to move out.
Mr Rotondo told reporters he planned to appeal.
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