Lawyer Seeks to Void $5.5M Cliffside Home Mortgage Due to Mania

John G. Bonomi Jr., a 66-year-old retired New York lawyer, is seeking to void his $3,850,000 mortgage on a $5.5 million Cape Cod mansion purchased in November 2021. Bonomi claims he was experiencing a "manic psychosis" at the time of the purchase, rendering the contract invalid. The 5,817-square-foot home, located between Cape Cod Bay and Wellfleet Harbor, was situated on a bluff eroding at a rate of 3.8 to 5.6 feet per year. The property, built in 2010 with five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, has since been demolished to prevent its collapse into the ocean.

Bonomi, diagnosed with Bipolar I Disorder in 2009, argues that "no rational person" would have purchased the property at the full asking price. His lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in October 2025, names JPMorgan Chase as the defendant. He contends the bank should not have lent him the money given his mental state. New York State law does provide a legal precedent for invalidating contracts based on mental health conditions.

Ethan Leib, a professor of law at Fordham Law School, commented to the Boston Globe that Bonomi faces a "difficult burden of proof." Leib questioned how a mortgage lender could be expected to ascertain a borrower's manic phase during a transaction. Bonomi is requesting a jury trial and seeks to void the mortgage and note, along with interest, damages, and attorney's fees. The suit states that "Plaintiff was acting under an uncontrollable manic psychosis at the time he entered into the Mortgage and Note," citing irrational risk-taking and impulsivity as symptoms of bipolar disorder.