[U] Gilgoff V. Maldonado

This is a case where the court is called upon to disentangle a business affair from an affair of the heart. The undisputed facts leading up to this case are as follows. Plaintiff Hugh Lorin Gilgoff and Defendant Theresa Maldonado worked together as medical residents at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, where they became involved in a romantic relationship. After a time, the couple determined that they would purchase an apartment in which they would live together. In June of 1999, approximately three years from the onset of their relationship, plaintiff and defendant viewed the cooperative apartment, unit 30-K at 340 East 93rd Street ("the Unit"), for the first time and decided to buy it together. The couple proceeded to satisfy the prerequisites of joint ownership of a cooperative apartment including: acquiring letters of recommendation, and co-signing the purchase application, a promissory note and a loan agreement. Defendant paid the $12,800 down-payment out of a "wedding account" held jointly by defendant and her mother. On September 1, 1999 the couple closed on the property, co-signing the contract for purchase of shares and the proprietary lease which listed plaintiff and defendant as "joint tenants." Plaintiff soon moved into the Unit; defendant did not. Responding to plaintiff's request for "room" in their relationship, Defendant left only a few belongings at the apartment and retained her rented apartment on 33rd Street, until such time as they were ready to cohabitate.