Timothy King, a onetime chief operating officer and partner at Massey Knakal Realty, will square off with his former employer in Brooklyn Supreme Court on October 1.
King, a 30-year real estate veteran and former head of Massey Knakal Realty of Brooklyn, alleges in a $3 million lawsuit that when he tried to acquire accurate and audited financial statements, books and company records to determine the value of the company, the defendants — the firm and founders Paul Massey and Robert Knakal — “‘stonewalled’” him.
Note: Correction appended
The suit, initially filed on June 30, alleges the company wanted “to hide the defendants’ self-dealing, waste, breach of fiduciary duty and misappropriation of company assets.”
King alleges in the suit that the company violated the Real Property Law and the New York Penal Law by paying “commissions, as referrals, to unlicensed people,” including attorneys “with the intent to have the attorneys influence the choice of the company as the customers’ real estate broker.”
The judge ordered Massey Knakal of Brooklyn, a limited liability company under investment sales parent company Massey Knakal Realty Services, to prepare audited financial reports and balance sheets from 2002 to the present for a court appearance next Tuesday, which was adjourned until October.
The suit alleges that Massey Knakal “failed to provide audited financial statements for 2002 through 2007 as required in the company’s operating agreement which was authored by the defendants.”
King hopes to win $3 million “on behalf of Massey Knakal Realty of Brooklyn,” which has six shareholders including King.
When asked to comment about the lawsuit, Massey Knakal CEO Paul Massey wrote via e-mail: “Ending a partnership is never easy. We wish Tim well in establishing his leasing business in Brooklyn.”
King joined the firm in 2002 to run the new Brooklyn operation and, according to the amended complaint filed last month, he was given 10 percent ownership of the company plus income from 10 percent of its profits. Once the office began earning money in 2003, within four years it had sold more than $1 billion in Brooklyn properties, according to King’s bio.
After holding the position as managing partner of the Brooklyn office, King was appointed Massey Knakal’s first COO. He left the company in March.
He charges that the only financial records the firm would give him were “woefully inadequate to explain the transfer of funds from the company to affiliates or the details of the loans themselves.”
The suit also alleges that by not “informing [the buyer and seller] of the dual agency or obtaining the written acknowledgement,” the firm violated a rule against dual agency issued by the New York State Department of State, the agency that issues and oversees real estate licenses.
The Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In May, King started CPEX Real Estate, a Brooklyn commercial real estate firm. He brought on board two Massey brokers plus another broker. For now, the firm is primarily focused on leasing deals in Brooklyn.
CPEX’s Web site shows two investment sales listings, 15 retail listings, and four office listings. Last month the firm leased a 650-square-foot retail space at 32 Court Street to frozen yogurt shop Yofiore, for close to the $14,000 per month asking price.
January 25, 2012 at 4:51 pm, Joseph Moshe sues Rutenberg for $2Million | BrokerPulse NYC said:
[...] investment and believe they are not being paid their fair share. In a similar suit filed in 2008, Timothy King, as a minority partner with the Brooklyn office of investment sales firm Massey Knakal Realty [...]
March 12, 2012 at 10:28 am, Rutenberg Realty | Joseph Moshe | lawsuit | Посты said:
[...] investment and believe they are not being paid their fair share. In a similar suit filed in 2008, Timothy King, as a minority partner with the Brooklyn office of investment sales firm Massey Knakal Realty [...]