A Connecticut tenant who won a $1.6 million (£1.23 million) court award after tripping over construction debris outside his unlit apartment building has still not received any money from his former landlord, according to his lawyer. Michael Criscuolo, 65, suffered a serious foot injury that eventually led to the amputation of one of his toes. The incident happened outside his apartment at 23 Argonne Terrace in Seymour, Connecticut, in May 2024. Gordon Hall issued a default judgment awarding Criscuolo $1.6 million in damages in January 2026.
Because there’s a defect on a property, or they slipped on ice, that happens,” Stokes told the Valley Independent Sentinel, people get injured. Criscuolo’s attorney, Sean Stokes of Riscassi & Davis, P.C., confirmed that the former landlord has not paid any part of the judgment, according to the Valley Independent Sentinel. After his landlord failed to respond to a personal injury lawsuit, Superior Court Judge H. However, the landlord is now appealing the decision, delaying payment indefinitely. “What happened to Mr Criscuolo happens all the time. “The difference is most of the time we have landlords and property owners that are responsible and either carry insurance coverage, or are self-insured, or show up in court when a case is filed.
The incident happened on May 24, 2024, at around 11 p.m. Court records show that Criscuolo faced about $652,000 (£500,000) in medical bills for the injury and the surgeries that followed. In May 2025, Criscuolo filed a lawsuit against the property’s owner, SL Seymour, LLC. Town officials said the property has about $40,000 in unpaid municipal fines for blight, along with roughly $15,600 in unpaid property taxes. Local building inspectors had also issued a stop-work order at the property in 2025 after finding that engineering certificates submitted for the renovation work were invalid. The report also stated that he owes $259,000 in municipal blight liens linked to other residential properties he owns.
The walkway and parking area had no lighting and were covered with construction materials left behind during building renovations, according to court documents cited by the Valley Independent Sentinel. The nine-unit building on Argonne Terrace is now empty, with its windows boarded up, according to municipal records obtained by the Valley Independent Sentinel. Stokes said the landlord’s failure to respond to court notices appears to be part of a pattern of avoiding financial responsibilities. “What we found ultimately is he appears to be doing whatever he can to avoid these types of responsibilities in the State of Connecticut,” Stokes told the Valley Independent Sentinel.
Criscuolo was walking from his three-story apartment building toward the property’s parking lot. Criscuolo hit his foot against an exposed concrete footing hidden among the debris. The impact caused a deep wound on his foot. The wound later developed a serious infection, and doctors had to amputate one of his toes. He claimed that the landlord had failed to manage the property properly and keep it safe for residents. Investigations by local news outlets found a wider pattern of property violations and unpaid town debts linked to the landlord and the Seymour building. In addition, an August report by the New Haven Independent noted that Levenhartz faces an active arrest warrant in nearby New Haven over alleged building code violations. “The City of New Haven is having a horrible time collecting blight liens from him. My client is unfortunately part of that story. As the appeal moves through Connecticut’s court system, Criscuolo’s judgment remains unpaid, and the property continues to sit empty.