Failure to launch? Judge orders 30-year-old man out of parents' house

Patron saint for his age, the most overgrown crybaby, or both? Michael Rotondo has captured the nation’s imagination — and not in a good way — he went to court to stop his parents from evicting him. The Rotondos have asked their son to leave for months, but Michael wanted the court to grant him at least another half year to get his act together.

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The judge was, er … unsympathetic, although he was impressed with Rotondo fils’ legal research. He certainly has plenty of time for it, which was one of the reasons his parents want him out of the house:

Greenwood credited Rotondo’s legal research in finding a prior case that appeared to show that family members get six months before an eviction. Rotondo dismissed his work as a simple internet search that took only minutes.

Greenwood provided a copy of the appellate court decision that overrode the case that Rotondo cited. Rotondo maintained that what Greenwood was doing was wrong. …

But after half an hour of back-and-forth, primarily between the son, Michael Rotondo, and the judge, the judge had had enough:

Rotondo would have to move out, the judge ruled. He also ordered adult protective services to investigate, expressing concern about what was going on.

Rotondo tells ABC News that the requests for his departure and then eviction notices actually began eight months ago, when the unemployed man lost custody of his son. I wonder how that happened.  Rotondo further claims that his parents owe him their sympathy for that trauma, and that his presence in the house isn’t “bothering” his parents, despite the fact that they had to go to court to force him out. Is it possible to be this clueless? All signs point to yes:

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Rotondo, who plans to appeal the decision, said he stopped speaking to his parents when they “alluded” to wanting him to leave the house in October, just one month after he lost custody and visitation rights of his son.

“I’m not bothering them by living here,” Michael Rotondo said in an interview with ABC News’ “Good Morning America.” “It’s little to no cost to them, and considering how much they’ve harassed me, I think it’s the least that they should be required to do, which is just let me hang here a bit longer and use their hot water and electricity.”

So why didn’t his parents want him to stay? Because the 30-year-old didn’t want to take care of himself, nor did he see the need to do so:

By the end of October, Michael Rotondo said his parents were demanding he get a full-time job, health insurance and sessions with a therapist, but he said he “didn’t need any of those things.”

Of course he didn’t — his full-time job was leeching off Mom and Dad. They even gave him $1100 to move out and find a new place, money which Rotondo accepted. What did he do with it? He “used the money for other things,” Rotondo told ABC, “but I don’t regret that.” It’s a safe bet his parents do, though, along with lots of other decisions regarding their son.

Not that he needs the money, Rotondo says. He has his own business which will be making tons of money real soon. So what is it? He didn’t elaborate with ABC, nor in a press conference he called after the court hearing

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He then called out for television camera crews to meet him outside the courthouse. There, he answered their questions, telling them he occupies a bedroom in his parents’ home, doesn’t speak to them and isn’t ready to leave home. He said he had a business but wouldn’t elaborate.

“My business is my business,” he said.

Perhaps his girlfriend in Canada is helping him run it, too.

The judge still has to finalize the eviction order with a move-out date, but Rotondo says he plans to appeal. If only he’d put this much effort into getting a job, perhaps his parents wouldn’t have been so anxious to get him out of their house.

Update: For some reason, I got the spelling of Rotondo’s name wrong consistently throughout. Thanks to my pal C.T. Rex for flagging it, and my apologies for the errors.

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