Son won't evict 98-year-old mom from Connecticut home

Mary Kantorowski said earlier this month she wouldn't leave the small yellow house she's been in since 1953, raising her two sons and cooking for the church she attended daily. (Connecticut Post)

A Connecticut man has withdrawn a lawsuit trying to evict his 98-year-old mother and will allow her to remain in her home, his attorney said Thursday.

Peter Kantorowski ended the lawsuit against his mother, Mary, that caused an uproar a day before the case was going to trial in Bridgeport Superior Court, said his attorney, Nick D'Agosto.

"This has never been about displacing Mary necessarily from that home," D'Agosto said. "She always would have had a place to live."

D'Agosto said Thursday that his client has been vilified but in fact cares deeply about his mother. He says Kantorowski wanted his mother to live with him because he was concerned about issues such as her level of care and supervision and living conditions, such as a lack of food, but she didn't want to leave the home in Fairfield.

"He felt his choices were limited in trying to accomplish what he was trying to accomplish," D'Agosto said.

Mary Kantorowski's attorney, Richard Bortolot Jr., said she can take of herself. He said she still does some of her own cooking and is seen regularly in her home by doctors and nurses.

"She's very relieved and very pleased that she does not have to go to trial tomorrow," Bortolot said. "I think it was the right thing to do."

Peter Kantorowski believed the house should be sold, D'Agosto said, contending the family couldn't afford the home with high taxes.

"He's obviously come to the conclusion that if this is what his mother wants and what she thinks is best and what her court-appointed conservator thinks is best there's no sense continuing on with the fight," D'Agosto said. "He's not going to continue to try and fight that while the press is vilifying him into someone who is trying to evict his mother."

Kantorowski hopes the attention from the case will ensure his mother is well cared for, his attorney said.

Peter Kantorowski, 71, became the owner of the Fairfield home several years ago when his mother transferred ownership to him but retained the right to live there, in what's known as a quit claim, Mary Kantorowski's attorney said. Kantorowski served his mother with an eviction notice shortly before her 98th birthday in December.

A judge ruled she was competent and appointed Bortolot to represent her in the eviction proceedings.

Mary Kantorowski said earlier this month she wouldn't leave the small yellow house she's been in since 1953, raising her two sons and cooking for the church she attended daily. She said her late husband wanted her to stay in the house, which she says is her "everything," until she died.

"I don't know why he wants me to leave," she said.