Studley executive managing director Woody Heller and Knickerbocker Village on the Lower East Side

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by independent broker Chaim Katzap against the former owners of Lower East Side housing development Knickerbocker Village, commercial real estate services firm Studley and Studley executive managing director Woody Heller over a commission relating to the 2007 sale of the complex to Apollo Real Estate Advisors. Katzap was seeking $20 million in fines and damages. The litigation, which has been ongoing since 2007, came to a close Sept. 22 when a judge tossed out the suit by Katzap, who had been hired to find a buyer for Knickerbocker Village, which up two whole city blocks and bounded by Catherine Street, Monroe Street, Market Street and Cherry Street, on a non-exclusive basis by Irene Pletka, partial owner of Cherry Green, a holding company that owns all shares of Knickerbocker. The case was dismissed on the basis that Katzap “never introduced Cherry Green to Apollo, the ultimate purchaser,” and had been acting as a “dual agent” for both the seller and Taconic Investment Partners, a bidder for the property, without fully disclosing his relationship with Taconic to Knickerbocker, according to the decision. … [more]