Trump’s Riverside South claims tossed from court
Donald Trump’s lawsuit over the record $1.8 billion sale of 77 acres on the West Side of Manhattan has been dismissed nearly in its entirety.
Nineteen of Trump’s 20 claims first brought last year were dismissed by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Lowe in a July 24 decision, leaving only one claim about Trump’s access to certain financial documents intact. That returns to court in the autumn.
Trump’s suit claimed his former Hong Kong-based partners undervalued the Riverside South property on old rail yards between 64th and 69th streets on the West Side. Trump and his partners sold the parcel to Extell Development and the Carlyle Group.
The $1.8 billion sale was the city’s priciest-ever residential land deal.
Lowe seemed unimpressed by Trump’s arguments, calling some of them “unpersuasive” and “without merit.”
At the heart of Trump’s case was the allegation that his former partners received kickbacks to undervalue the property.
Lowe’s decision said Trump did not adequately prove his partners received kickbacks. By undervaluing the property by $1 billion, Trump’s partners would stand to lose $700 million from the sale because of their interest in the partnership, Lowe noted.
As he explained, undervaluing the property would only be in the partners’ interests if they were able to receive more than $700 million in kickbacks.
“Trump fails to explain what the alleged kickbacks were, how they were obtained, how they could have exceeded $700 million, and why defendants would forego $700 million in value,” Lowe said.
Along with the decision, the defendants were ordered to submit an answer to Trump’s only remaining claim: that he was barred from examining the partnership’s books and records. That issue will be addressed later in court.
Hooters: delightfully tacky, yet litigious
Hooters of Manhattan is suing its Midtown landlord for reducing its image to that of a “second-rate establishment.”
The case revolves around construction undertaken by the landlord, 211 West 56 Associates, that the chain restaurant, better known for its waitresses’ tight T-shirts than its food, claims harmed its business. The second-story restaurant is located at 211 West 56th Street just off Broadway.
According to Hooters’ claim, first filed in New York Supreme Court two years ago and due back in court this month, the construction began in 2003 after an engineer discovered that repairs to the building were needed.
Between the time Hooters signed the lease with their landlord and the time construction began, Hooters claims that it invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements to the outdoor plaza area and the façde of the building.
After a request from the landlord to make additional improvements, Hooters claims it spent over $150,000 complying with each of the landlord’s requests.
According to court documents filed by Hooters’ attorneys, the trash bins and building materials in the plaza because of the 2003 construction gave Hooters the “appearance of a second-rate business.”
Hooters claims it lost everything it spent on improvements to the plaza and façde because of the construction.
A response from 211 West 56 Associates attacked the claim, saying Hooters failed to prove that it is owed any money, and that statutes of limitations make Hooters’ claims futile.
The landlord also claims that Hooters made a deal releasing the owner from any lawsuit over the construction. In return, Hooters was permitted to put up signage and was released from a lease it has over a residential apartment in the same building.
The parties are due back in front of Justice Karla Moskowitz this month.