The plaintiff-husband owned an investment property located at 22 W. 25^th Street which consisted of 16 residential and one commercial unit which generated approximately $750,000 to $1.0 million in gross rents per year.  Defendant-wife’s application for an expert to value her efforts in increasing the value of the plaintiff’s 22 W. 25^th Street property was subsequently denied.  The court held that merely asserting that defendant’s efforts increased the value of the property was insufficient if nothing else was provided to support such a claim.  At most, the defendant claims she lobbied for rent laws more favorable to landowners but was unable to demonstrate specific actions/contributions that affected the actual worth of the property in question and failed to even argue that the building was marital property.

LINK TO DECISION