Lawsuit to eject former HFZ principal Nir Meir from Hamptons home discontinued

A lawsuit that sought to eject former HFZ Capital Group principal Nir Meir from a Hamptons home was discontinued on Monday.

An entity tied to Monroe Capital, one of HFZ’s lenders, filed the lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court in December, just weeks after Meir left the embattled real estate firm. The complaint alleged that the Monroe entity held the title to the home at 40 Meadow Lane, but Meir was living there without the owner’s consent. The company claimed that Meir was blocking it from taking possession of the property, and filed a notice of pendency preventing him from selling the home.

Meir fired back with a countersuit in January, alleging that HFZ convinced Monroe Capital to participate in a scheme to fraudulently purport to “transfer” the property to reduce Feldman’s personal liability to Monroe Capital. Meir claimed that he controlled 95 percent of the entity that ultimately owned the home, while HFZ owned only 5 percent.

The countersuit filed by Meir against Monroe Capital, HFZ and the firm’s chairman Ziel Feldman was also discontinued this week. In addition, the notice of pendency on the property was canceled.

Attorneys representing Meir and the Monroe Capital entity did not respond to requests for comment. Meir, HFZ Capital and Monroe Capital did not return requests for comment.

The more than 6,600-square-foot Southampton home has seven bedrooms and a swimming pool, records show. A cottage known as “A Wee Lyr Mor” originally sat on the site. The wealthy Fulton Cutting family owned the property for decades, and listed it for $17.5 million in 2011.

An LLC registered with HFZ’s New York office purchased the property for $10.5 million in 2013, records show. The buyer then applied for a demolition permit to knock down the cottage and build a modern home, sparking pushback from neighbors and a lawsuit that temporarily stalled construction. The new home was built in 2017. Last year, the owner of the property secured an $18.35 million mortgage from ConnectOne Bank.

HFZ is facing a slew of lawsuits from its lenders and investors, and has lost control of a number of projects in Manhattan. In January, Los Angeles-based CIM Group, one of HFZ’s lenders, foreclosed on the junior mezzanine positions tied to four properties: 88 and 90 Lexington Avenue; The Astor at 235 West 75th Street; and Fifty Third and Eighth at 301 West 53rd Street.