Partner of ex-Yankees pitcher David Cone ordered to pay neighbor’s legal bills in ‘Housewives’ fire lawsuit
she tried to burn down her Manhattan apartment in 2019 to land a gig on “The Real Housewives of New York.”Abitbol denied this and responded by suing Rice for defamation.However, in a decision on July 9, a New York County Supreme Court judge dismissed the case and ruled that Abitbol, 52, must pay all of Rice’s legal fees.“There is ample evidence of Plaintiff attempting to gain notoriety from the fire by talking about it on talk shows and publicizing the fire on her Instagram,” a ruling seen by The Post stated.“Plaintiff was also featured in a New York Page Six article just three months prior to the fire as being someone who was ‘obsessed’ with getting on ‘Real Housewives of New York’ and had apparently failed four auditions.”As Abitbol previously told The Post, on the morning of Nov. 9, 2019, she lit a sage candle for morning meditation in the dining room of her and Cone’s four-bedroom apartment in Lincoln Square.As she said her prayers, Abitbol explained, the candle went up in flames, setting off the building’s sprinklers.The NYPD and FDNY were called “immediately” to the incident, which was later ruled an accident, Abitbol said.