NEWS

Eviction from Montville home of 'Real Housewives' stars thwarted

Peggy Wright
@peggywrightDR

MORRISTOWN – "Real Housewives of New Jersey" co-stars Melissa and Guiseppe "Joe" Gorga got a lesson in being landlords Friday when they learned they can't try to evict a tenant from their Montville mansion unless the home is registered with the township as a rental property.

The Gorgas, who appeared together in Superior Court with two attorneys, have been trying since June 10 to evict tenant Kai Patterson and his company, Bounty Alert Inc., for alleged non-payment of at least $60,000 in back rent.

As both sides waited three hours while Judge Stephen Taylor disposed of other landlord-tenant matters, Melissa Gorga chatted in a corridor about the reality TV show and how it started as a lark but now is "a real job."

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In court, within moments of Joe Gorga being sworn in as a witness, he replied "no" when the judge asked whether he had registered the house as a rental property, as required by state statute.

Gorga said he spoke in either August or September 2013 to the township zoning officer and was told he didn't need to register the home, of French chateau-style architecture. Gorga's attorney, Frank Catania, said he believed that since the Gorgas made a lease-purchase agreement with Patterson -- under which he would lease the home and buy it within 18 months -- registration was not necessary. The judge said it was.

Patterson's lawyer, Richard Koppenaal, asked for immediate dismissal of the eviction action, which sought a so-called judgment of possession.

"It's simple. Either you comply with the law or you don't," Koppenaal said.

But the judge advised that the Gorgas can get the house registered and he'll hear the complaint on Sept. 2. Then, Catania and co-counsel Carlos Ortiz said the Gorgas want Patterson out not only for alleged failure to pay rent but because they want to move back into the house and register their three children for school.

The judge said a new complaint would have to be filed -- meaning in all likelihood a hearing delayed past Sept. 2 -- if the Gorgas want to add new issues.

Melissa Gorga said that her family is renting a home in Franklin Lakes while also building a new home in that community.

Patterson disputes the amount of money he owes the Gorgas. He contends he paid them $25,000 toward the purchase and $10,000 a month each month since he moved in March 1. He said he also paid a $4,416 water bill he wasn't responsible for, and that the home is in disrepair, with burst pipes and damage from a beaver that used to live in a crawlspace.

"We plugged up a hole so the beaver can no longer get in," Patterson said outside the courtroom.

While the figures have fluctuated on exact amounts of money Patterson was supposed to pay, he said the Gorgas claim he owes them an additional $10,000 a month in rent from March through August, and expected him to pay for installation of a $100,000 swimming pool. He said he not only lives in the house with his 79-year-old step-father but runs his business collecting child support debts from there and plans to use it as the locale for a new talk show and reality show.

Patterson said his deal with the Gorgas calls for his rent to increase in September from $10,000 to $20,000. "I'll have the $20,000 on Sept. 2," he said.

Melissa Gorga, noticing that Patterson was speaking with reporters in the corridor before the case was called, approached and said: "Everything he just said is BS."

"There's a lot of acrimony," Koppenaal commented as Gorga walked away.

In court, the judge said he wants to resolve the case and not get bogged down in issues that are "more form than substance."

"This case has been dragging on for some time now," Taylor said.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com

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