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For years, Natalia Korolekh is alleged to have terrorized her neighbours with violence, racial insults and a massive Rottweiler that is “a constant source of fear.”
In her tony, 30-unit townhouse complex in downtown Toronto, Korolekh is considered the neighbour from hell. And on Aug. 17, the Ontario Superior Court agreed — by ordering the 41-year-old stockbroker to sell her home.
In a rare decision, Justice Michael Code ordered Korolekh to sell her unit near Bay and Bloor Sts., ruling she has been physically violent and intimidating to her condo neighbours.
Korolekh must also pay $35,000 to her condo board and get rid of her dog, a 5-year-old Rottweiler named Chinia. According to court documents, the large dog — estimated at about 150 lbs. — is used to “frighten and intimidate,” once lunging at a neighbour while Korolekh urged her to “Get it! Get it!”
Neighbours say Korolekh’s presence has transformed their community from one that was “safe, accepting and close knit” to one where common areas are now “virtually barren” and residents avoid Korolekh at all costs.
“Mrs. Korolekh’s behaviour is extreme in a number of senses,” Justice Code wrote in his judgment. “This broad array of misconduct is carried out in a devious, persistent and vindictive manner.”
He continued: “This case was a ‘perfect storm’ where the misconduct is serious and persistent, where its impact on a small community has been exceptional and where the respondent appears to be incorrigible or unmanageable.”
It is extremely rare for judges to order the sale of a condo unit, a decision considered by some to be excessive and draconian.
But lawyers for Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corp. No. 747 say Korolekh was a danger to both the property and her neighbours, thus making legal action necessary.
“It was very extreme,” said Denise Lash, solicitor for the condo corporation. “It was probably the most extreme case that I’ve seen in my 21 years.”
Korolekh was given three months to sell her home but on Friday, she insisted she was staying put.
Chinia could also be seen lounging on Korolekh’s couch; the court-ordered deadline for the dog’s removal passed two weeks ago.
“Trust me, I will fight for myself,” said Korolekh from her home on Friday, dressed in a stained white shirt and speaking with a thick Russian accent. “”I feel something is not right here.”
In her four-page affidavit, Korolekh accuses her condo board of spearheading a “campaign of harassment” ever since she asked for some defective windows to be replaced.
Korolekh said her condo board is trying to save money by using the courts to force her out and avoid paying for the windows.
But in the judge’s ruling, Code outlines numerous examples of harassment and intimidation described by nine separate complainants. They include incidents of Korolekh “egging” homes, poisoning a neighbour’s plants, throwing gravel and stones, and even striking a male resident in the throat.
Neighbours further allege Korolekh is often “highly intoxicated” and blasts loud music at night. She is also known to climb walls and “stare inside of units for extended periods of time,” one claimed.
But the most frequent complaint against Korolekh is for offensive language. Multiple complainants describe her making racial slurs and “screaming obscenities, mostly about her disdain for homosexuals.”
In one affidavit, a neighbour described an encounter with Korolekh while in the company of his mother and daughter.
“As we were entering our unit, Korolekh yelled at us collectively, ‘You ugly Romanians,’ ‘f—you’ and other obscenities,” he wrote. “My daughter was 9 years old at the time.”
The condo board applied to have Korolekh removed from the townhouse complex on July 19, 2009, alleging she was in violation of section 117 of the Condominium Act, which prohibits residents from permitting or engaging in dangerous activity. They also said Korolekh failed to comply with an earlier request to stop her inappropriate conduct and remove her dog from the home.
On Friday, a number of residents expressed relief with the judge’s decision but most refused to speak on the record, citing fears of retribution.
“This community couldn’t be happier with the ruling,” said neighbour Robert Jerome in an email. “We were all terrorized by her, her vicious Rottweiler and her equally as nasty partner.”
Korolekh categorically denies any wrongdoing and laughed incredulously when told of the allegations made against her. She says she is the one who has been targeted with violence and racist remarks, not her neighbours.
The condo’s lawyers say they hope Korolekh will comply with the judge’s orders. But Korolekh insists she will fight to stay in her condo.
“At this point, I don’t really care,” she said. “I’ll keep trying.”
Jennifer Yang Staff Reporter
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