The Brett Flores squatter case is a Queens property dispute in which a former live-in caregiver refused to leave an $18 Shore Road home in Douglaston after the owner’s death, forcing the couple who later bought the $2 million house into a prolonged eviction fight, bankruptcy delays, and cross-lawsuits that became a driver of New York’s 2024 change to its squatter law.
How Flores Ended Up in the House
The home belonged to Bernard Fernandez, a retired executive vice president of E. Gluck Corporation.1Legacy.com. Bernard M. Fernandez Obituary In December 2018, Fernandez suffered a subdural hematoma that left him with brain bleeding and early-stage dementia and required around-the-clock care.2New York Post. How Queens Squatter Brett Fisher-Flores Cozied Up to Home’s Former Owner and Never Left
Brett Flores, a former model who had relocated from Los Angeles to New York in 2019, was introduced to Fernandez through a relative and hired as a caretaker. By July 2020, Flores was working full-time and living in the home at a salary of $3,000 per week.2New York Post. How Queens Squatter Brett Fisher-Flores Cozied Up to Home’s Former Owner and Never Left
Fernandez died on January 12, 2023, at age 80.1Legacy.com. Bernard M. Fernandez Obituary Flores stayed in the house. The property passed to the Bernard Fernandez 2009 Revocable Trust, and the estate’s own efforts to remove him failed.3Business Insider. Couple Battles Squatter Over $2 Million Home in New York City
The Landas Buy a Home They Cannot Move Into
The property was listed on July 24, 2023, at $2.69 million.4Fox 5 NY. NYC Squatter Family Real Estate Deal Law3Business Insider. Couple Battles Squatter Over $2 Million Home in New York City Joseph Russo, the trustee of the Fernandez trust, handled the sale.
Flores was still living there and would not leave. Police told the Landas they could not remove him and would have to go through housing court. Under New York law at the time, a person who had lived in a property for 30 days could claim occupancy rights, and homeowners could not lawfully change the locks, cut utilities, or force them out.5ABC7 NY. Squatter Remains in Douglaston Queens Home One Year After Investigation
Why the Eviction Stalled
The Landas filed for eviction in Queens Housing Court. Flores initially appeared without a lawyer, and hearings were adjourned. In January 2024, he filed for bankruptcy, triggering an automatic stay that froze the eviction. Their attorney, Anthony Mordente, moved to lift the stay so the case could proceed to trial.4Fox 5 NY. NYC Squatter Family Real Estate Deal Law
Through the delays, the Landas kept paying the bills. Susana Landa said Flores left windows open around the clock and drove up heating costs.6New York Post. Queens $2M Home Taken Over by Squatter From Retired Couple The Landas also alleged that Flores had listed rooms in the house as short-term rentals, including one advertised as the “Prince Room” for $50 a night. When they tried to enter with an insurance inspector in February 2024, Flores called police and kept them out. They later hired security to watch the property.3Business Insider. Couple Battles Squatter Over $2 Million Home in New York City
Flores’s Shifting Legal Arguments
Flores, who also goes by Brett Fisher-Flores, first said Fernandez had granted him a “license” to live in the home.2New York Post. How Queens Squatter Brett Fisher-Flores Cozied Up to Home’s Former Owner and Never Left His attorney, Dennis O’Sullivan, later advanced a different theory: that Flores had agreed to stay put during the sales process to help the Landas negotiate a lower price and that the Landas had agreed to pay him $140,000 for his cooperation.4Fox 5 NY. NYC Squatter Family Real Estate Deal Law
O’Sullivan said he possessed an hour-long video of Flores and the Landas discussing the arrangement, in which the Landas allegedly congratulated Flores on “delivering the property for such a low amount.”4Fox 5 NY. NYC Squatter Family Real Estate Deal Law As of March 2024, the recording had not been produced in court; O’Sullivan said it was being held for “strategic decisions” at later hearings. A judge in Queens Civil Court ordered Flores to turn the recordings over to the Landas and their attorney within one week.7ABC7 NY. Queens Douglaston Squatting Legal Battle
Mordente disputed the account, saying the Landas had offered Flores money to leave and that Flores refused and demanded more. O’Sullivan also raised a defamation claim, arguing that the Landas’ public statements had caused damages beyond the $140,000 figure.4Fox 5 NY. NYC Squatter Family Real Estate Deal Law
Criminal Arrest and Civil Cross-Suit
On December 13, 2023, Flores was arrested inside the Douglaston home on assault and harassment charges. Police said the arrest followed an argument between Flores and his wife over their hospitalized child during which Flores allegedly shoved her out of a bedroom and threw her to the floor, injuring her hand, wrist, and pelvis.8New York Post. NYC Squatter Brett Flores Is a Model, Allegedly Assaulted Wife The assault charge was later dismissed in Queens Criminal Court.4Fox 5 NY. NYC Squatter Family Real Estate Deal Law
Flores filed his own harassment suit against the Landas.7ABC7 NY. Queens Douglaston Squatting Legal Battle In April 2024, he filed a separate civil action in Queens County Supreme Court styled as a contract dispute against Joseph and Susana Landa, with attorneys Anthony Vincent Gentile and Dennis J. O’Sullivan appearing for him. The complaint alleged tortious conduct tied to the Shore Road property, and the case remained active into late 2024, still in the discovery phase.9UniCourt. Brett Flores v. Joseph Landa et al
New York’s 2024 Squatter Law Change
The Douglaston case became one of the most publicized squatter disputes in the state, and the coverage fed a legislative response. On April 22, 2024, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a provision into the state budget amending New York’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law to specify that “a tenant shall not include a squatter.” The amended law defines a squatter as a person who enters property without permission and continues to occupy it without title, right, or permission from the owner, and it was intended to let police intervene without pushing homeowners into lengthy housing court proceedings. Assemblyman Jake Blumencranz, who had separately introduced the Property Protection Act to reclassify squatting as criminal trespass, described the budget provision as a “last-minute compromise” between the Assembly and Senate.10ABC7 NY. Governor Hochul Signs New York State Budget Provision to Prevent Squatting
Where the Case Stands
The core dispute between Flores and the Landas has not been fully resolved on the public record. Flores’s April 2024 contract lawsuit was still pending in Queens County Supreme Court in late 2024, with discovery demands and a preliminary conference order on the docket.9UniCourt. Brett Flores v. Joseph Landa et al The housing court eviction had also continued, with Flores’s defense team at one point weighing a jury trial.5ABC7 NY. Squatter Remains in Douglaston Queens Home One Year After Investigation Whether the 2024 statutory change has affected this case in practice, given that Flores’s occupancy and the litigation predate the amendment, has not been publicly reported.