Zamir shot down in suit against investment partner’s ex-wife

Fight over 587 Fifth rolls on as judge nixes bid to open file of Elyass Eshaghian’s former spouse

587 Fifth Avenue (center) in Midtown
587 Fifth Avenue (center) in Midtown

Developer Asher Zamir lost a major legal battle last week when a Manhattan Supreme Court judge dismissed Zamir’s lawsuit to open up the marital file of his investment partner at 587 Fifth Avenue.

Zamir, a principal at Zamir Equities and the managing member of the entity that controls the 587 Fifth Avenue ground lease, filed the suit in February. In it, he alleged that his investment partner Elyass [Elliot] Eshaghian made ”improper transactions” involving his family, including his ex-wife Roset.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos, however, tossed the suit against Roset, ordering Zamir to pay the legal fees and other costs she incurred for defending herself against the suit.

The legal wrangling over the leasehold at 587 Fifth has been an ongoing drama. In 2013, Crown Acquisitions and investor Steven Feldman of One North Realty agreed to acquire the ground lease for the coveted 10-story office building for $27.5 million.

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The deal to acquire the leasehold fell apart, though, after Zamir backed out of the agreement. Crown then filed suit to enforce the sale.

Eshaghian filed his own suit against Zamir in February in order to block a deal to refinance debt at the property, claiming that the agreement would add $10 million in debt to the building.

Zamir reached a settlement deal in August to settle claims with Sol Goldman Investments, the landlord at 587 Fifth, after that company tried to declare a default on the leasehold and evict Zamir from the property.

In Zamir’s latest suit against Eshaghian, the developer was seeking to discover if any 587 Fifth assets were transferred to Roset, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman, or other family members.

Lawyers for Zamir declined to comment and Zamir did not return calls. Lawyers for Eshaghian were not immediately available for comment and Roset Eshaghian did not return calls.