The lawsuit over the future of the Pierre Hotel is no longer in effect, but neither side is willing to admit defeat.
A judge dismissed the lawsuit filed last month by the building’s residents, on Page Six reported. The New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the lawsuit was no longer relevant because one of its biggest claims — a lack of transparency from the building’s management — had been resolved.
The board provided a non-binding term sheet to the tenants, along with three years of board minutes.
The board has claimed victory since the lawsuit was dismissed. But the residents are also claiming victory, arguing that the case was not dismissed on merits and that the result was a victory “for transparency, for the shareholders and for the Pierre.”
Fashion designer Tory Burch and fellow residents filed suit to stop what they claimed was a secret and coercive $2 billion sale of the Fifth Avenue property that could lead to their eviction.
The complaint accused the co-op’s board of reaching an agreement in September with an unidentified LLC allegedly linked to the Khashoggi family that would have merged the building into the Brunei-owned Dorchester Collection.
The residents claimed the board refused to reveal the identity, financing capacity or exclusivity terms of the buyer, and rejected a rival offer from longtime operator Taj Hotels, allowing the residents to stay.
While the $2 billion sale is still on the table, the board is also considering “a possible sale of the Corporation’s hotel to Taj” and “an amendment to the Taj lease that would, among other things, provide for an equity investment by Taj in The Pierre.”
De Pierre, which just celebrated its 95th anniversary, is having difficulty adapting to modern times. Maintenance and service deteriorate, resulting in fraying carpets and inadequate staffing.
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, then CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and owner of the co-op’s penthouse, is said to have pushed the board to hire Newmark Group, the real estate firm he headed, to advise on improving the property before selling it.
Lutnick, who has never lived in the penthouse he bought for $44 million in 2017, previously distanced himself from the controversy. A spokesman for his ministry said he had not been involved in discussions and had made his conflicts public before relinquishing his companies when Trump tapped him for his job as commerce secretary.
— Holden Walter Warner
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