An insurance company claims that the operators of a failed Briarcliff Manor restaurant vandalized the landlord’s property and stole fixtures and equipment.
Erie Insurance Co. is demanding $123,930 from the former Chatterbox 54 Bar & Restaurant and its partners, in a complaint filed Aug. 17 in Westchester Supreme Court.
“The damage occasioned to the property,” the complaint states, “was caused solely by the negligence or willful and malicious acts of the defendants.”
Erie Insurance is seeking to collect the sum it paid to landlord Sullivan Associates Inc., of Yonkers, on an insurance policy for the building at 1201 Pleasantville Road.
The Pandolfo family styled Chatterbox 54 as an upscale Italian-American restaurant inspired by the legacy of a grandfather who immigrated to America and started his career on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
Julia and Joseph Pandolfo of Briarcliff Manor ran Chatterbox 54, according to court records. Julia was a 50% owner and managing partner of 1201 Pleasantville Road Restaurant Holding Group. Podiatrist Berdj Stepanian, of Armonk, was a 50% owner and silent partner.
Chatterbox 54 opened in December 2015 and closed around August 2020.
The partners quickly got into disputes, and about a year after the opening Stepanian sought a court order to dissolve the business.
Westchester Supreme Court awarded him a $70,000 default judgment in 2017, and ordered Julia to buy out Stepanian’s interest in the business for $260,000.
The holding company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2017, declaring $132,600 in assets and $825,500 in liabilities, and claiming that the partnership dispute had compromised Chatterbox 54’s viability. The bankruptcy was converted to Chapter 7 liquidation in 2020.
Sullivan Associates sued the holding company for unpaid rents and water damages to the property, and last year Westchester Supreme Court awarded a $111,739 default judgment for the landlord.
According to Erie Insurance, after Chatterbox 54 closed around Aug. 27, 2020, the landlord discovered that its HVAC equipment, electrical equipment and unspecified personal property had been removed.
Erie Insurance paid Sullivan Associates $123,930 for the claimed losses.
Now the insurer wants to get back its money, citing a landlord – tenant lease that required the tenant to pay for any property damages.
Erie Insurance is represented by Purchase attorney Joel S. Stuttman.
