FRIED FRANK'S JANICE MAC AVOY LEADS PRINCETON HOLDINGS LLC AND THE BLUESTONE GROUP TO VICTORY IN REAL ESTATE DISPUTE
Fried Frank, led by litigation partner Janice Mac Avoy, successfully represented Princeton Holdings LLC and The Bluestone Group in a dispute regarding the acquisition of a 50% tenant-in-common interest in 14 Manhattan properties.
(prHWY.com) September 26, 2012 - New York City, NY -- Fried Frank, led by litigation partner Janice Mac Avoy, successfully represented Princeton Holdings LLC and The Bluestone Group in a dispute regarding the acquisition of a 50% tenant-in-common interest in 14 Manhattan properties, valued in excess of US$450 million at the time the agreement was entered into, and currently worth significantly more.
Fried Frank is a premier law firm that has been representing multinational corporate leaders, ranging from investment banks to heavy industries, as well as entrepreneurial companies across all sectors of the economy since many years. Janice Mac Avoy is the co-head of the Real Estate litigation department of the firm and her expertise in the field has made her the one of the most sought after attorneys for these matters.
The proceedings of the case were as follows:
After entering into a binding letter agreement, Princeton's joint venture partner, Michael Ring, purported to terminate the agreement and claimed that it was not binding upon the parties. In response, Fried Frank:
(i) obtained an order from the Supreme Court of New York compelling arbitration,
(ii) procured a preliminary injunction from New York's First Department prohibiting Michael Ring from directly or indirectly transferring or encumbering the properties pending arbitration, and
(iii) ultimately succeeded on the merits at JAMS arbitration in which the arbitrator found the letter agreement binding and granted Princeton specific performance of the deal.
The matter involved several unique issues, including the availability of specific performance as a remedy to enforce a joint venture where Michael Ring allegedly no longer trusted Princeton based on the parties' contentious negotiating history. At the hearing, Fried Frank prevailed in demonstrating that the alleged loss of trust issue was disingenuous, and that regardless, courts and arbitrators should uphold parties' contractually bargained-for specific performance remedies. The arbitrator's award is one of the few times a New York tribunal has ordered specific performance in the joint venture context.
The Fried Frank team included real estate partner Jonathan Mechanic; litigation partner Janice Mac Avoy; tax partner Richard Wolfe; and real estate special counsel Eddie Frastai.
ABOUT THE ATTORNEY
Janice Mac Avoy is a member of the litigation department, co-head of the real estate litigation practice group and co-chair of the pro bono committee of the leading law firm Fried Frank. In her illustrious career, she has successfully represented countless clients in complex real estate-related disputes, commercial litigation and arbitration, commercial fair market rent arbitrations, regulatory and SEC enforcement actions and internal investigations. She also has extensive experience in handling matters involving creditor's rights, including complex commercial real estate mortgage foreclosures and UCC foreclosures, workouts and restructuring of real estate secured debt.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Janice Mac Avoy
Phone: +1.212.859.8182
Fax: +1.212.859.4000
Email: janice.macavoy@friedfrank.com
Website:
http://www.friedfrank.com
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