Chester Town Board approves $10K payment to insurance for eviction lawsuit

At the October 11 Chester Town Board meeting, the board voted to approve a payment of $10,000 to the town’s insurance for a deductible related to the settlement of a court case against Supervisor Robert Valentine and the town, among others.

The lawsuit was filed by Marie Denardo, who in 2020 rented a property at 25 Creamery Pond Road from owners at the time Cora and Robert Valentine. She accused Cora and Robert Valentine of enacting illegal eviction proceedings against her that went against the eviction moratorium issued by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Valentines said Denardo had failed to pay the $7,000/month rent for several months in 2020, which resulted in their initiating eviction proceedings against her.

Denardo’s court complaint said that in October 2020 the Valentines changed the locks and removed her personal property from the residence “without legal process,” and that Robert Valentine, in his capacity as the Chester supervisor, had three Chester police officers assist him with the “unlawful” eviction.

Robert Valentine denied the charges against him, and noted in court filings that he was not acting under his official capacity as the town supervisor. The other defendants in the case also denied the allegations.

According to court filings, lawyer Doug Jones was included as a defendant for allegedly conspiring with the Valentines to “unlawfully, illegally and without resort” evict Denardo with the involvement of the Chester police. The police officers also allegedly prevented Denardo from entering the house to retrieve her personal items and threatened her with arrest. The lawsuit accused the three officers of aiding and abetting the so-called illegal eviction. Jones was also accused of falsely telling the three police officers that Denardo had abandoned the premises, which she denied doing at the time.

The complaint further alleged that the Valentines evicted Denardo because they had found a prospective buyer for the Creamery Pond Road property. According to county data, the house was sold for $725,000 in December 2020. The real estate listing showed the house as having four bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms on three acres of land.

Denardo sought an award of damages for several million dollars for the eviction, citing the loss of the rental property, emotional distress, the removal of her personal items, some of which she said had not yet been recovered, and a violation of her civil rights, among others. However, according to court documents filed in September of this year, Denardo reached a tentative settlement with Robert Valentine and the town of Chester for a sum of $150,000.

The $10,000 insurance deductible payment voted on during the October 11 meeting was to pay out that settlement. While Robert Valentine recused himself from the vote due to his involvement with the lawsuit, all board members but Councilman Brandon Holdridge voted in favor of the payment.