It’s a precious table, designed by the late modernist architect Charles Gwathmey, valued at $115,000. If damaged, it is estimated to require $86,000 worth of repairs.

He sits down in an enormous Chelsea loft owned by Gwathmey’s stepson Eric Steel, who rents unit for about $30,000 per month.

And now Steel is allegedly refusing to return the security deposit to its latest underwriters – Australian power couple Sam and Lara Worthington, who sued him earlier this month in Manhattan Supreme Court.

In response, Steel claims the Worthingtons destroyed the trophy table and trashed the loft. He is demanding payment of $300,000.

The dispute is eerily similar to one a decade ago, when Steel sued a high-profile former lodger, media mogul Arianna Huffington, whom he accused of destroying the same table and ruining the place.

“Steel’s attempt to use his playbook to fabricate damage and target his tenants for pay will not be tolerated by the Worthington family, who have left the apartment in nearly pristine condition,” said Anne W. Salisbury of Guzov LLC, the couple’s attorney. “Steel’s claims and counterclaims are provably false and without merit under New York law, as the Worthingtons will demonstrate in court.”

The Worthington – Sam is known for her role in Avatar, while Lara, born Lara Bingle, it is a model with nearly 2 million Instagram followers – recently vacated the unit after about a year of subletting.

The Worthingtons, who have three young sons, acknowledge normal wear and tear and some damage beyond their control — such as water ingress from the building envelope, the suit says. They left behind a broken wardrobe, plus some scratches and scuffs on the walls.

“The plaintiffs could not have caused more than a few thousand dollars in damages,” says the Worthington family’s attorney.

As for the $86,000 to repair the Gwathmey table, the suit calls the sum “astronomical . . . to the point of absurdity.”

The unit came partially furnished, according to the sublease contained in the lawsuit. But “the only mention of the table was when the plaintiffs wanted to remove all the furniture before taking possession and were told the table would not fit in the service lift so could only be taken out the window. There is no mention of the special finish, the need to apply a special coating, or the need to bring the entire table to the manufacturer just to have the refinish done there,” the suit says.

An estimate from Pollaro Custom Furniture in New Jersey provides an amount of $36,000 to strip the finish, dent repair, sand, bleach, stain and spray the table – costs $200 per hour for 180 hours.

Round-trip shipping between the Chelsea loft and the furniture workshop is estimated at $50,000, according to papers reviewed by The Post. This includes building a rigging crate, disassembling the table, packing it, lifting it with a crane and delivering it. Does not include window removal or debris removal, according to the moving company’s correspondence.

Steel’s list of demands includes $6,500 for “supervision, service and coordination”; $21,450 for re-flooring; and $15,200 to renovate metal sinks, shelves and window sills — all part of an $87,000 construction estimate. His list also includes $120,000 for four months of lost rent, according to court filings.

Steel he rented the co-op unit — worth about $10 million — to seven tenants between 2004 and 2024, according to court filings.

“Because of the apartment’s unique and refined design, Mr. Steel often rented the apartment to prominent figures in the fashion, art and media worlds,” says the counterclaim filed by Steel’s attorney, Jacob S. Reichman of Kudman Trachten Aloe Posner LLP. Reichman declined to comment to The Post.

A dozen years ago, Steel sublet the apartment — all 4,400 square feet — to Huffington. Upon her departure, Steel sued her for $275,000, for destroying the same table as well as for destroying the place.

“The Gwathmey designed and custom dining table was damaged and scratched and the finish compromised. It had to be packed, lifted out of the apartment and repaired by the original manufacturer,” according to that suit, which also called the table “irreplaceable.”

At the time, Huffington said in a statement, “every claim in this lawsuit is false except for the square footage and the address. Eric Steel, who has happily renewed the lease twice and visited the apartment several times, is keeping $93,000 in deposits, which he has refused to return.”

This suit was quickly resolved.

“This is not the first time the owner has done this,” the Worthington lawsuit states. “Steel sued a famous public figure for nearly identical claims of injury. After a torrent of negative press, this individual settled the case. . . this abuse of the legal system and misconduct by the owner cannot be accepted.”

The Huffington lawsuit is irrelevant, according to documents filed by Reichman. “By mentioning events that took place ten years ago, the Worthingtons are only trying to distract from the actual conduct at issue here,” the papers said.

The sublease says tenants must take “good care” of all furniture, artwork and inclusions.

The Worthingtons refuse to pay “even one cent to repair the damage to the apartment” and “have made absolutely no effort to care for the apartment or fulfill their obligations as tenants,” the documents state. He accuses them of using the unit as “their own personal warehouse” and of “disrespecting and damaging the apartment.” The table is said to have had “large charges in it, rendering it unusable”.

What’s more, “the Worthingtons didn’t even bother to turn off the lights or close the windows before they left,” the papers claimed.

If the table is so delicate and valuable, Steel should have made that point to any subtenants, the Worthington family’s attorney wrote in court papers.

“Indeed, if he knew that a tenant would be shocked by his claims about the supposedly rare and sensitive $86,000 need for refinishing, he should have added it to the lease so that tenants could choose to cover (the table) and move it. “