You know how much we love a good legal battle, and though it's no El Dorado apartment 9B, this story will do. The home of the Albert Ellis institute has been entangled in some legal drama, with his estate trying to get control of the property back three years after his death. He deeded the property over to the institute back in 1964 in exchange for a top floor apartment, a $12,000 a year stipend and health insurance.
According to the Real Deal, "In June 2007, just before his death, Ellis filed a lawsuit seeking to recover his medical expenses and to wrest control of the townhouse by way of a constructive trust. When Ellis died the following month, his attorneys had vowed to continue litigating for control of the property on behalf of his estate." The 13,000 square foot townhouse, at 45 East 65th Street, is on the market for a psychologically jarring $29,000,000.
· Albert Ellis Institute and late founder's UES home hits the market for $29M [The Real Deal]
· Listing: 45 East 65th Street [Curbed]
UPDATE: The Real Deal has issued a clarification to its reportage, as follows: "In an Oct. 29 Web story, The Real Deal said that when Albert Ellis died in 2007, his attorneys had vowed to continue litigating for control of 45 East 65th Street, his home and the site of the Albert Ellis Institute. That lawsuit, however, was dismissed in August and attorneys for the institute said the suit was 'amicably settled' this year. At the time the story was published, the institute had not returned requests for comment." As such, it should be understood that the title to the property is no longer in question. Curbed regrets the intimation otherwise in our original item.