Walter & Samuels Hit With Wrongful Dismissal Suit

Parents often hope their children will share everything with them, but perhaps not at Walter & Samuels.

Marc Berley, son of the company’s longtime chairman David Berley, has filed a lawsuit against his father and the 90-year-old real estate investment company claiming his firing was without cause and a retaliatory act for whistleblowing.

The younger Berley, who served as vice chairman of Walter & Samuels for the past several years, said in the suit he examined the records after he and other company members learned that his father was suffering from cognitive decline and could no longer control decision-making authority over Walter & Samuels.

Marc claims in the suit he came across an apparent illegal use of company funds to maintain an executive’s personal residence.

In a June 16 email to his father, Berley reported his “…reasonable belief that Walter & Samuels has engaged, and is continuing to engage, in illegal activities..” In that email, Berley also reminded the firm and his father that it would be unlawful for them to retaliate against him for making this disclosure. The company fired him on June 27.

The suit is seeking $2.5 million in damages.

David Berley and Walter & Samuels are expected to be served with the complaint on Monday. Neither responded to a request for comment.

“An aging parent suffering from mental decline is a heart-wrenching ordeal,” Marc Berley said in a statement on the suit. “And it is far more complicated when that parent owns and runs a complex business and refuses to give up the reins of control, despite being unable to discharge the duties he owes to partners.”

“The lawsuit, unfortunately, is necessary to avert further harm to the company and those it serves.” Berley said.

According to the complaint, Walter & Samuels and Marc agreed to a contract in 2016 that saw him obtain 15 percent ownership of the company and detailed what payments were due to him if he was terminated without “cause.”

In such a case, the complaint says the company is contractually required to pay Berley cash of at least $1.8 million as a termination payment and an additional payment, with interest and further relief determined by the court as the basis for the $2.5 million price tag in the dispute.

A former bio page on the company’s site listed Marc as vice chairman and said he previously served as president and senior executive managing director.

Before joining his father’s company, the younger Berley appears to have had little to no real estate experience, working in academia and as president of FAST, a national nonprofit educational foundation.

“It’s a really sad situation and I’m not sure what’s really going on with the company,” said Neal Brickman, a lawyer for Marc Berley, in an interview. “It’s not a good time to be in commercial real estate in New York.”