Parents Successfully Sue to Get Their 30-Year-Old Son to Move Out

Jason Duaine Hahn
Updated

A couple from Camillus, New York, took drastic measures to get their 30-year-old son to move out on his own – but he wouldn’t be leaving the coop without making things difficult.

Mark and Christina Rotondo have tried for months to get their adult son, Michael, to leave their home, where he has lived rent-free for eight years after he moved back in when he lost his job, according to the ABC 7.

Over the course of two months from February to March, the couple gave Michael five written letters requesting him to leave, all of which he ignored.

“After a discussion with your Mother, we have decided that you must leave this house immediately,” Mark Rotondo wrote to his son in a notice filed with the Onondaga County court, according to CBS. “You have 14 days to vacate. You will not be allowed to return. We will take whatever actions are necessary to enforce this decision.”

Michael Rotondo
Michael Rotondo

To show how serious they were, the parents sent Michael another letter warning him they would take legal action if he didn’t leave of his own will.

“Michael Joseph Rotondo, You are hereby evicted from 408 Weatheridge Drive, Camillus, New York effective immediately,” the letter reads. “You have heretofore been our guest and there is no lease or agreement that gives you any right to stay here without our consent… A legal enforcement procedure will be instituted immediately if you do not leave by 15 March 2018.”

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To further entice Michael, the couple offered him $1,100 to help him live on his own and gave him advice on how to land a job.

“There are jobs available even for those with a poor work history like you. Get one – you have to work!” they wrote in a letter from February 18, reports Syracuse.com.

Still, Michael – who Mark and Christina said never did chores around the house since moving back in – continued to brush each warning aside.

Because of New York state law protecting family members, the couple couldn’t simply evict their son. So Mark and Christina followed up on their word and went through with an ejectment proceeding to rid their home of Michael.

The 30-year-old tried to get the case thrown out on the grounds that his parents had not given him the legally required six months to leave. Serving as his own lawyer, Michael defended himself by saying he was never expected to help out around the house or contribute to expenses.

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Leading up to Tuesday’s hearing, Michael told the New York Post that the suit has made living with his parents less than ideal.

“It is awkward,” he said.

If Mark and Christina’s situation sounds familiar, it’s likely because it is similar to the premise of the 2006 Matthew McConaughey comedy, Failure to Launch, which follows a couple’s plan to get their 35-year-old son to move out of their home – though, instead of a judge, these parents took up the services of Sarah Jessica Parker.

During a hearing in the Onondaga County Supreme Court on Tuesday, State Supreme Court Judge Donald Greenwood ruled that Michael will indeed have to leave his parents home, once and for all. Michael called the ruling “outrageous.”

While speaking with reporters outside of the courtroom, Michael said he felt he should be given another 30 days to find a place to live.

“It seems to me like I should be provided with, you know, 30 days or so, because generally, you get 30 days after you’re found, you know, to have to vacate the premises,” Rotundo told reporters while flipping back his long brown hair and wrapping it with a band. “So I’m expecting something like that. But realistically, if that’s not the case, I don’t know.”

While no deadline for his eviction was given in court, Michael said he plans to file an appeal, CNY Central reported.