New York City attorney Mark Sloane is calling it “100 percent fraud.” Several men are alleged to have set up a fake slip and fall scenario in order to file a bogus lawsuit against the building’s landlord for a big pay.
The building owner, who has not been identified, caught the scammers on camera. The video shows two men arriving on the sidewalk outside the building on scooters. They then tear up the sidewalk to make it appear dangerous. Then, another man comes into frame and appears to stage a dramatic slip and fall on the broken sidewalk. Suspiciously, the man appears to fall at the very spot that had just been torn up by the other two men.
The man who filed the suit (also unidentified) is trying to claim not just physical, but psychological damages.
The owner facing suit is not the only one with this problem. Another unidentified landlord told the media that people are creating “some kind of setup” that’s outside the building owner’s control, and the claims don’t make any sense.
Attorney Sloane said New York City is famous for fake slip and fall claims, and these are just the most recent. Last year, the city’s five boroughs spent a staggering $53.5 million fighting these fake lawsuits.
Sloane said these cases are not legitimate, but “fraud.” He asked what the chances are that the two men shown in the video just happened to want to tear up a sidewalk, and shortly after, another man comes along and “falls” on that exact spot?
Local media contacted the law firm representing the claimant but did not receive a response. Interestingly, though, that same firm almost immediately notified the Bronx Supreme Court that they were removing themselves from representing the man. Why? Because the law firm thinks he’s lying, too.
But the alleged scam is already costing the building owner money he thinks he should not have to pay. His insurance company is asking him to fork over the $10,000 deductible on his policy to investigate what he says is an obviously false claim.
Of course, the cost of all this fraudulent activity has to be paid, and it often ends up raising the rents for tenants who are already paying exorbitant rates in the Big Apple.
