The Jennifer 8. Lee Lawsuit
Our trusty new Intern X, whose identity must remain secret, took a nice walk down to Superior Court, and came back with some hilarious reading in the form ofSolomon v. 8. Lee.
The overall impression one gets from the lawsuit againstNYTreporter Lee, filed by her former D.C. landlord: deep, misguided rage, most clearly expressed by the $150K plus punitive damages and attorney's fees requested.
The complaints included the crushing crowds, loud noise, blasting music to the wee hours, party-goers relieving themselves and vomiting on the Property and on the neighbor's property, the dumping of beer on other occupant's units, and the aforementioned fire incident where the other residents of the building feared that the roof below the balcony on the Property has been set on fire by guests throwing sparklers and cigarette butts on it. On information and belief, one tenant actually had beer thrown on him as he tried to enter his premise.
Who are these partying maniacs actually named in the suit?
The list couldn't be more unlikely: NYTmanaging editor Jill Abramson -- possibly the most cheerful and sunny person to ever work at that paper. And two dudes most unlikely to do a kegstand: Yuppie-hottie Zach Exley of MoveOn.org and the Kerry campaign, and Grover Norquist—and let's just say a man never resembled his name more. Hooligans, one and all!
Other tidbits:
· The landlord spent more than $7500 on a dishwasher and a fridge. Umm, are they made of SOLID GOLD?
· Lee would take sources into the back room "for merlot" during parties to talk. For some reason, this makes her sound like Sidney Biddle Barrows meets Woodward and Bernstein.
· The landlord was forced to rent an apartment while repairs were being made -- for $3500 a month. Uh, couldn't she have stayed in the Lincoln Bedroom for that much dough?
Our honest prediction: Jennie 8.'s landlord gets about 10K to replace the floor, finds somewhere else to work out her neurosis.
(Disclosure: I sometimes suckle at the teat of the NYT, but have never had the opportunity to trash Jenny 8.'s.)—CS