Last year Dr Daniel Kenigsberg was stunned to discover that a plot of land he’d purchased in Fairfield, Connecticut back in 1991 had been built on without his permission.
Dr Kenigsberg originally purchased the land as it was adjacent to his childhood home with the intention of passing the land down to further generations in his family. The New York based doctor also became the sole-owner of the land in 2011 after his brother passed away.
The house which had been built on Dr Kenigsberg’s property (Google Maps)
He’d previously received requests from developers to purchase the land, including an offer of $400,000 (£314,000) in 2022, which he has always turned down.
So you can imagine his shock when he returned to the land and discovered a £1.2 million, four-bedroomed property under construction there.
How was the property built on Dr Kenigsberg’s land?
According to a report shared by NBC New York, the developers behind the property claimed they had purchased the plot for $350,000 back in October 2022.
However Dr Kenigsberg alleged that he hadn’t sold the land.
He said a ‘fraudulent’ document was given to a lawyer by someone claiming to be him in South Africa.
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Dr Daniel Kenigsberg had purchased the plot of land in 1991 (Daniel Kenigsberg)
Dr Kenigsberg subsequently sued developers Sky Top Partners LLC on nine counts and was seeking damages of up to $2 million (£1.5 million).
He was also requesting that the developers cleared the property from his land and restored it to the original condition.
51 Sky Top Partners LLC would later allege that they’d fallen victim to a scam and had been duped into buying the land from a person impersonating Dr Kenigsberg.
The case has since been resolved in a huge new update, with Dr Kenigsberg agreeing to settle (per an update from Law360) with 51 Sky Top Partners in April this year.
Specific terms of the settlement have not been released to the public, however it is understood that Dr Kenigsberg received a payout.
It would also appear that Dr Kenigsberg has decided to wipe his hands entirely of the plot of land, with Patch reporting in July 2024 that the property had been sold for a total of $1.45 million (£1.14 million) after the settlement was reached between the two parties.
Featured Image Credit: (NBC New York)
Brenna Cooper
Perfect Christmas present for bookworms has £39 off in massive Black Friday sale
“It’s changed my life”
This article contains affiliate links and LADbible Group might make a commission on anything purchased.
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Getty Images
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Where to buy a magazine subscription for Christmas
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Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/ Busà Photography
Topics: Black Friday, Shopping
Danielle Fowler
Neighbours call for action after man returned home to land he bought in 1991 to find £1.2 million house on it
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg isn’t the only one who has been left frustrated by the land dispute
If you’re the proud owner of a decent-sized chunk of land, let this be a lesson that you need to keep tabs on it.
Otherwise, you might end up like this bloke who got the shock of his life when he returned to his prized half-acre plot in his hometown, only to realise that a £1.2 million house had been built on top of it.
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg purchased the plot of land, which was situated next to his childhood home in Fairfield, Connecticut, back in 1991 and has held onto it for decades despite being approached numerous times to sell it.
He shrugged off offers of $400,000 (£314,000) in 2022 and instead opted to hold onto it, in the hopes that he could pass it down to younger generations in his family.
So when an old pal from his hometown rang him for a catch up and broke the news that construction had been underway on the land he owned, as you can imagine, Dr Kenigsberg wasn’t best pleased.
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg was left stunned when a four-bed home was erected on his land. (NBC New York)
According to CT Insider, he rushed back to Fairfield from Long Island to find that a four bedroom house had been erected on the site, which seemed to only need a few finishing touches.
It turns out that the land had been ‘sold’ to Sky Top Partners LLC for $350,000 (£275,000) back in October 2022.
According to a lawsuit filed by Dr Kenigsberg, the supposed sale of the land and subsequent construction of a house had been done without his knowledge.
He sued the firm on nine counts and was seeking damages and compensation of up to $2 million (£1.57 million).
The lawsuit also ordered the company to clear off his land and restore it to how it was before they thought they bought it.
CT Insider later reported that Gina Leto and Greg Bugaj of 51 Sky Top Partners LLC claimed they had fallen victim to a scam, instead ‘buying’ the plot of land from someone who had impersonated the landowner.
Neighbours have voiced their concern. (NBC New York)
Speaking to NBC New York, Dr Daniel Kenigsberg alleged that a ‘fraudulent deed’ had been submitted which claimed they had the legal right to sell the land.
He fumed: “How the system fails, you know. When you have checks and balances, you have lawyers on each looking at things – how does this not get caught?”
Residents in Fairfield are just as frustrated by the situation, as construction on the home was halted following the legal action, so the street is now stuck in a stalemate… with no end in sight.
One neighbour who voiced concerns about how long the issue may take to work out said: “There’s really nothing to look at. It’s just… really, it’s just an eyesore at this point.”
Another local added: “People just keep driving by. They wanna see what’s going on. Take a look at the house. And it just causes traffic.”
While a third chimed in: “I really just hope everyone involved gets what they need, because it seems like there are two victims in this case.”
Dr Kenigsberg and his neighbours really aren’t happy about the half-complete pad. (NBC New York)
Dr Kenigsberg admitted he ‘felt bad for the builder’, adding: “It’s a bad situation that tends to lose a lot of money.”
Consumer protection lawyer Kevin Kneupper suggested that his claims were not that outlandish, as it is actually quite simple to pose as a landowner.
He explained: “It’s really easy to go find who owns land. If you’ve never done searches on this, in most counties, you can actually just go, it depends on your state.
“But in many places, you just search online, they’ll have databases, so they could find out real easily who’s the actual owner and then just pretend to be him.
“Now, to be clear, his attorney and Mr. Kenigsberg, they are not accusing the people who bought it of being involved.
“They think that they sort of didn’t know what was going on, and that someone in South Africa did this.
“And that’s who the police are trying to go after to find where the money actually went to when they paid for it.”
Featured Image Credit: NBC New York
Olivia Burke
Man returns home to land he bought in 1991 to find someone’s built a £1.2 million house on it
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg was shocked to find someone building a house on his land
A home-owner was left stunned after he was informed that a house was being built on the land he’d owned since 1991.
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg’s parents purchased a house on Sky Top Terrace, Fairfield, Connecticut, when he was one, and it became his childhood home.
His father bought the property for just $5,000 in 1953 and when Dr Kenigsberg got older, he and his brother decided to also buy the half-acre plot of land next door in 1991.
After his sibling passed away in 2011, Dr Kenigsberg became the sole-owner of the land.
His plan was to keep the land until he was old enough to pass it down to his family.
However, back in 2023, he received a phone call from a friend that someone was building a house on his land.
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg. (Daniel Kenigsberg)
First, he was told that his best friend growing up was in a hospice and then that somebody was building a house on the land he owned.
After rushing over to visit his friend, Dr Kenigsberg swung by the site of his childhood home and found himself staring at an almost-constructed four bedroom house.
It turns out that the land had apparently been ‘sold’ to 51 Sky Top Partners LLC for $350,000 (£275,000) back in October 2022.
According to a lawsuit filed by Dr Kenigsberg, the supposed sale of the land and subsequent construction of a house had been done without his knowledge.
He sued 51 Sky Top Partners LLC on nine counts, and was seeking damages and compensation of up to $2 million (£1.5 million), with the lawsuit ordering the company to clear off his land and restore it to how it was before they thought they bought it.
CT Insider later reported that Gina Leto and Greg Bugaj of 51 Sky Top Partners LLC claimed they had fallen victim to a scam, instead ‘buying’ the plot of land from someone who had impersonated Dr Kenigsberg.
The man who owned the land came back to find someone building a house on it. (Google Maps)
As for how this could have happened, consumer protection lawyer Kevin Kneupper suggested that someone had forged documents which claimed they had a legal right to sell the land on Dr Kenigsberg’s behalf.
He said: “It’s really easy to go find who owns land. If you’ve never done searches on this, in most counties, you can actually just go, it depends on your state.
“But in many places, you just search online, they’ll have databases, so they could find out real easily who’s the actual owner and then just pretend to be him.
“Now, to be clear, his attorney and Mr. Kenigsberg, they are not accusing the people who bought it of being involved.
“They think that they sort of didn’t know what was going on, and that someone in South Africa did this.
“And that’s who the police are trying to go after to find where the money actually went to when they paid for it.”
Featured Image Credit: Daniel Kenigsberg / Google Maps
Anish Vij
Woman shocked to discover someone had built £400,000 house on land she bought years before
Someone had built a £400,000 house on her land.
A woman was shocked to discover that someone had built a $500,000 (£400,000) house on the land she bought six years ago.
Annaleine Reynolds purchased the one-acre plot in Hawaiian Paradise Park, a subdivision in the island’s Puna district, back in 2018 at a county tax auction for around $22,500 (£18,500).
She bought the land because it ‘had all the right qualities’ and was hoping to use it after the pandemic where she had spent her time in California.
Hawaii News Now
However, during that period, Annaleine got a call from a real estate broker who informed her of the big blunder.
The land she bought had been bulldozed over and a brand new house, worth half a million dollars, was built on site.
“He told me, ‘I just sold the house, and it happens to be on your property. So we need to resolve this.’ And I was like, what? Are you kidding me?” she explained.
Reports suggest that local developer Keaau Development Partnership was said to have hired PJ’s Construction to build a dozen homes on the properties the developer bought in the subdivision.
But by mistake, they built one on Annaleines’ lot instead.
Annaleine has now hired Honolulu attorney James DiPasquale to fight the lawsuit.
Hawaii News Now
He explained: “There’s a lot of fingers being pointed between the developer and the contractor and some subs.
“It would set a dangerous precedent, if you could go on to someone else’s land, build anything you want, and then sue that individual for the value of it.”
Peter Olson, an attorney representing the developer, argued that most of the lots in jungle-like Hawaiian Paradise Park are identical.
“My client believes she’s trying to exploit PJ Construction’s mistake in order to get money from my client and the other parties,” Olson told AP.
Meanwhile, a neighbour has claimed the empty home has attracted squatters.
Hawaii News Now
In similar news, Dr. Daniel Kenigsberg was shocked to discover a four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house, suddenly appearing next to the land of his childhood home.
He purchased the half-acre strip at 51 Sky Top Terrace in Connecticut back in 1991, just outside of New Haven.
The spot was close to the site of his childhood home, which his dad bought in 1953 for just $5,000.
However, Dr. Kenigsberg’s world came crashing down when he was told by a close friend that some building work had begun on the parcel of land.
The land was bizarrely sold to 51 Sky Top Partners LLC for $350,000 back in October 2022.
Dr. Kenigsberg is now suing the firm involved on nine counts, including trespass, statutory theft, and unfair trade practices.
LADbible previously contacted representatives for 51 Sky Top Partners and Dr. Kenigsberg for comment.
