Ex-Peebles exec withdraws appeal in compensation case

Former development director Andrew Newhouse ends fight against developer

Don Peebles
Don Peebles

Former Peebles Corporation executive Daniel Newhouse withdrew his appeal against the developer Monday, ending his months-long battle to win what he said was fair compensation from his erstwhile employer, court documents show.

Newhouse, who rose to be director of development and investments at the company run by developer and possible mayoral candidate Don Peebles, filed a complaint in January. 

He accused Peebles of reneging on a promise to compensate him with a 5 percent ownership stake in properties he helped acquire for the corporation. Newhouse claimed he was instrumental in the acquisition of 346 Broadway in Tribeca, which Peebles bought for $160 million in May 2013. Newhouse was owed $3 million for the transaction, he said. But Peebles, Newhouse alleged, refused to honor the arrangement, instead offering a 1 percent stake, which Newhouse said he rejected.

A judge threw the lawsuit out in May. Newhouse began an appeal a month later.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Peebles Corp. general counsel Lowell Plotkin said in a statement, “All pending matters between Daniel Newhouse, on the one hand, and The Peebles Corporation and R. Donahue Peebles, on the other hand, have been settled amicably, on a confidential basis, with no payments made or concessions to Mr. Newhouse.”

In an email, Plotkin added that Peebles Corp. had also withdrawn a lawsuit against Newhouse it had filed in Florida.

The developer of late has leveled harsh criticism at former ally Mayor Bill de Blasio, calling him the “mayor of the Socialist Party.” Peebles has floated the possibility of his opposing the mayor when he seeks re-election in 2017.