A New York City actress and skin cancer survivor is suing her condominium, claiming her $6.2 million Manhattan apartment left her at risk of her disease returning due to powerful UV rays.
Jennifer Betit Yen, 48, and her husband, Jeffery Peyton Worley, are suing 685 First Realty Group because she claims their First Avenue apartment exposed her to harmful UV rays through its floor-to-ceiling windows, despite the group’s assurances that it was “100 percent” protected.
Yen claimed in her lawsuit, seen by DailyMail.com, that she “repeatedly” told the real estate group that she had a “want and need for UV protection” in her home due to her history of melanoma.
“Over the course of the next three years, I suddenly had to have two suspicious biopsies and my family noticed a painting fading at a rapid rate on our wall and other evidence that, perhaps, the developer’s representative was not being truthful,” she wrote in another article. blog entry.
She claimed in her lawsuit — which also names The Soloviev Group, the property’s developers, and One United Nations Park as defendants — that she developed lesions on the side of her face facing the windows.
Jennifer Betit Yen, 48, (left) and her husband Jeffery Peyton Worley (right) are suing 685 First Realty Group because she claims their First Avenue apartment exposed her to harmful UV rays through its floor-to-ceiling windows.
Yen claimed in a lawsuit, seen by DailyMail.com, that she “repeatedly” told the real estate group she had a “want and need for UV protection” in her home because of her history of melanoma.
The Soloviev Group, the developers of the property, told The New York Post that the couple should have had UV testing done before closing on the home in 2021.
He added that those lesions needed to be biopsied, before test results fortunately revealed they were benign.
“We asked another representative from the building’s developer to confirm that the glass was fully UV-protective and we were assured, both verbally and in writing, that it was,” wrote the actress, who has appeared on shows including New Amsterdam and Royal Pains.
“I may not know the real impact for a long time,” he continued. “If I had known the truth, I could and would have protected myself. I would have done the same thing I did with my previous house and installed solar film.”
The Soloviev Group, the developers of the property, told The New York Post that the couple should have gotten UV tested before closing on the home in 2021.
“If it was such a big deal, they should have inspected it to their satisfaction,” attorney Alex Estis told The Post.
Estis said Yen and Worley had “bought a very cheap (UV testing) device on Amazon” to conduct tests.
The New Amderstam actress claimed to have developed lesions on the side of her face facing the windows and needed a biopsy, which fortunately turned out to be benign.
The couple is seeking at least $1 million, plus prejudgment interest, punitive and exemplary damages, costs and disbursements, according to the suit.
“They should have done that test before the closure and verified it,” he said.
Soloviev Group CEO Michael Hershman told The Post the lawsuit was “frivolous” and said “an independent expert tested the window and found the protection meets standards.”
“We will firmly refute the groundless accusations,” he told the outlet.
However, Yen claims that one-third of the glass in his studio and half of the glass in his living room provided little to no protection and that he had unwittingly exposed himself for years by “sitting directly in the sun thinking I was safe.”
“This is like telling a light-skinned person to sit on a sunny beach and they’ll be safe with this sunscreen, but instead of giving them sunscreen, you give them a bottle of baby oil,” she wrote scathingly. “If I knew the truth, I could and would have protected myself!”
Soloviev Group CEO Michael Hershman told The Post the lawsuit was “frivolous” and said “an independent expert tested the window and found the protection meets standards.”
The Soloviev Group, the developers of the property, told The New York Post that the couple should have had UV testing done before closing on the home in 2021.
“It disgusted me and now I’m in this surreal situation where I unknowingly sat in a potentially lethal UV bath almost every day, during peak sun hours, thinking I was safe, for several YEARS.”
Melanoma has a high recurrence rate and exposure to UV radiation can take years to materialize, Yen said.
The couple is seeking at least $1 million, plus prejudgment interest, punitive and exemplary damages, costs and disbursements, according to the lawsuit.
The final amount of the sentence will be decided in court.
Estis, 685 First Realty Group and One United Nations Park did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s requests for comment.
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