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Hunter College files eviction lawsuit against dropout who refuses to move out of dorm room

The 32-year-old former student is prepared to fight the school

Chelsea Ritschel
in New York
Thursday 01 March 2018 17:26 GMT
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A college has been forced to take legal action after a former student has refused to move out of her dorm room for two years.

Lisa S Palmer, 32, enrolled in classes at Hunter College in New York to pursue a geography major in 2016 - but dropped out of classes shortly after moving into the dorms.

However, despite no longer attending classes, Palmer never left - and has since forced the college to take legal action.

According to an eviction lawsuit filed by the school, the former student refuses to move out of Room E579 in the college’s co-ed dormitory, located on 25th street - and has ignored numerous notices informing her her occupancy has been terminated.

Palmer also refuses to pay residence hall charges or rent - and according to the lawsuit, has “racked up a staggering $94,000 in unpaid residence hall charges on account of her continued occupancy, all the while ignoring Hunter College’s service of additional vacate notices.”

Hunter College’s website states residence fees for the Brookdale Residence Hall are $6,000 per school year for a single room - and only full-time students who maintain a minimum grade point average and keep current on their room and board fees can stay in the dorms, according to the lawsuit.

Last fall an attorney for the school attempted and failed to evict Palmer by sending her a notice that read: “THIRTY DAY NOTICE OF TERMINATION. You are required to vacate and surrender the premises on or before October 31, 2017, at 12 pm.”

Palmer dropped out of classes at Hunter College in 2016

But Palmer, who now works in an architecture firm, refuses to move - and is prepared to fight the school, despite revealing to the New York Post that dorm life in your 30s is “really lonely.”

“I plan on fighting the lawsuit and while I fight it, I’m going to stay,” Palmer told The Post from outside her 100sq feet dorm room.

Palmer is one of ten people the school is currently trying to evict - including a middle-aged nurse who lives in the same wing as Palmer and a 67-year-old nurse who has kept a “crash pad” at the location for decades.

“I feel very isolated,” the 32-year-old told The Post.

The Independent has reached out to Hunter College for comment.

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