Justin Theroux’s long-running legal battle with his “nuisance” New York City neighbors is in limbo after the downstairs resident died last month, new court documents reveal.
Theroux, 52, has been embroiled in a lawsuit against “The Leftovers” actor Norman Resnikow since 2017, when the latter sued his Greenwich Village neighbor for trespassing on their shared rooftop terrace, killing ivy, spying and harassing him.
But Mr. Lesnikow, 76, a retired real estate lawyer, died May 4, according to a letter his lawyers filed with the court last month.
This automatically puts all litigation involving Resnikow on hold until his wife, Barbara Resnikow, is appointed executor of his estate and takes over the litigation, according to a letter filed by attorney Peter Levine in three Manhattan Supreme Court cases.
“Currently, all litigation is at a standstill and cannot move forward until Barbara is officially appointed executor by the guardianship court and then becomes a party to all pending litigation on Norman’s behalf,” Levine told The Post on Thursday. “That is the next step.”
Levine declined to comment on the cause of Resnikow’s death.
Mr. Resnikow was ordered by a judge to vacate the building he shares with Mr. Theroux at 71 Washington Place, and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March. He was also ordered to pay legal costs that the co-op estimated at $640,000.
He wrote in a March affidavit that he planned to vacate the three-bedroom, 2,420-square-foot, two-story home by Sept. 30.
The mansion is on the market for $4 million, and while it’s on the market, Barbara still lives in the home she’s lived in for 20 years, Levin confirmed to The Washington Post.
Mr. Resnikow was embroiled in four lawsuits related to disputes with Mr. Theroux and other residents of the building.
Theroux claims in his lawsuit that Resnikow began a campaign of harassment against him in 2015 after he and his then-wife Jennifer Aniston began work on a $1 million renovation of the second floor of their Manhattan home.
The judge in the case was Lesnikow. Liability for trespass and nuisance claims A trial was scheduled to begin in April to determine how much damages he must pay to Theroux before the bankruptcy automatically stays the proceedings.
A separate lawsuit brought by the building cooperative ended on Jan. 16 with a judgment ordering the Resnikows to vacate the property and pay legal costs.
The co-op’s board said it was owed $640,000 in legal costs, but Mr. Resnikow had sought a reduction in the amount due.
Resnikow also lost a lawsuit against the co-op seeking to dissolve the board and was ordered to pay legal costs in that case, which the board claims it has paid $127,000 in legal costs.
At the time of his death, Lesnikow was in the midst of settling a separate case with an insurance company that was paying part of his lawsuit.
It is unclear what will happen to all of Barbara’s cases, including the bankruptcy case, after she was appointed executor of her late husband’s estate.
“We were saddened to learn of Mr. Lesnikow’s passing and offer our condolences to his family,” Theroux’s lawyer, Eric Sherman, told the Post.
Sherman declined to comment on whether Theroux would drop the lawsuit against Resnikow if it were to be reinstated.
