Courts roundup: SL Green sued for $4M over Soho retail; borrower sues Maverick; $25M sought from HFZ

Courts roundup for April 6, 2021: There were no New York City real estate bankruptcies or commercial foreclosures of note.

Please note that court filings are the positions of one party and are not necessarily accurate or complete.

Dallas firm seeks $4.1M from SL Green for Soho guarantees: The Dallas-based private-equity firm Paceline Equity Partners sued SL Green Realty, seeking $4.1 million in alleged guarantees related to a loan secured by the retail co-op at 106 Spring Street. Paceline acquired the retail co-op through a $23 million credit bid in a UCC auction held on March 2. That price of $23 million represents a 78 percent decline from the 2016 sale price of $105.4 million.

The Commercial Observer identified Paceline as the buyer. The auction occurred on March 2, 2021. The co-op building ownership entity is called Workspace, Inc. SL Green bought the approximately 6,000-square-foot unit for $79.5 million from the Carlyle Group and 60 Guilders, which sold at a loss from their 2016 purchase price of $105.4 million. The unit had a $48 million first mortgage from Citizens given originally in 2016. Citizens began a UCC foreclosure on the loan in 2020. Paceline acquired the debt on February 17, 2021. The loan principal when Paceline acquired it was $38 million, with additional interest and fees totaling $2.6 million. Paceline is suing SL Green to recoup $3 million through a “Partial Guaranty” and $1.1 million through a “Recourse Guaranty.” LINK

Investor Benny Shabtai seeks $25.7M from HFZ Capital, Feldman, Meir: Investor Benny Shabtai is seeking a total of $25.7 million from HFZ Capital Group, Ziel Feldman and Nir Meir, based on alleged loans tied to 76 11th Avenue, a mixed-used hotel, retail and condo project in Chelsea. The total is the sum of two initial loans Shabtai claims were given, one for $7 million in 2014 and the other for $3 million in 2015, The additional $14.7 million in interest and other charges. This suit is in addition to another Shabtai filed in January. There, he is seeking $9.8 million for a loan with an original principal of $3.64 million from 2014, through a suit filed in January, 650277/2021. LINK

Gould sues to block Maverick from foreclosing $6.8M West Village loan: Mark Lundy’s Gould Investors is seeking to halt what it calls “predatory” strategies by Maverick Real Estate Partners, which owns a $6.8 million loan secured by 86 University Place in the West Village. Maverick bought the loan with an original principal of $6.8 million from BankUnited on March 11, 2021. Gould claims it executed a binding refinance agreement with BankUnited before the loan was sold to Maverick, and wants that agreement to be carried through. Gould is seeking specific performance of that agreement, among other requests. LINK