Judge orders 30-year-old man to leave family home in New York after parents take him to court

A judge has ordered a 30-year-old man to move out of his parents’ house in upstate New York after they took him to court.

Mark and Christina Rotondo filed a lawsuit against their adult son, Michael Rotondo, in a desperate last measure after he refused to leave the family home earlier this year.

Michael had lived with his parents for the past eight years, rent free, since he lost his job.

The court case was a culmination of several attempts by his parents to kick him out through formal letters, payments and life advice.

In one letter, his father wrote “after a discussion with your mother, we have decided that you must leave this house immediately”. 

“You have 14 days to vacate. You will not be allowed to return. We will take whatever actions are necessary to enforce this decision,” he wrote on February 2.

According to reports of court documents, Michael did not help with chores or pay board and ignored other efforts to help him get back on his feet.

In a letter dated February 18, the Rotondos offered their son $1100 so he could ‘find a place to stay’ and also gave him some life advice including organisational skills, searching for jobs and selling valuable items to generate income.

But by the end of March it became clear to his parents he would not leave and Michael was finally taken to the Supreme Court by his parents after all their other attempts failed.

During the Supreme Court hearing, Justice Donald Greenwood tried to convince Mr Rotondo to move out for good on his own.

But Mr Rotondo argued, as he represented himself in court, that he was entitled to stay for another six months until he found somewhere else to live.

Justice Greenwood described the demand ‘outrageous’ and served him with an eviction order following a 30-minute court appearance.