Couple sue for takeout bills

NEW YORK, April 1 (UPI) -- A New York City couple are suing their former apartment building management company for money they spent on takeout food while their gas was turned off.

Beverly Taki, 66, and husband Louis Maione, 68, are suing their former co-op board and management company, Gumley Haft Realty, for $27,000 they say they spent on takeout food orders during the 10 months their gas was out, which left them unable to use their commercial-size, six-burner double oven stove, the New York Post reported.

The couple said they paid a $5,700 a month maintenance fee while they lived in their Upper East Side apartment, but Gumley Haft did nothing to remedy the situation that began in October 2010.

"They just seemed to disregard everybody," Maione told the Post. "We cooked all the time. We had people over for dinner all the time.

"My wife is a fabulous cook," Maione said "I'd come home and my wife would have a rib roast ready or any number of desserts she was testing."

They appealed to Gumley Haft to install electric ovens until the gas could be restored, but Gumley Chief Executive Officer Dan Wollman allegedly told them, "That's not going to happen," the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court states.

The couple ended up selling the apartment for $4.4 million in July 2011.

It's unclear what caused the gas to be shut off, since no one complained of a leak, the couple said. The newspaper said the company did not respond to call for comment.