- WALL STREET JOURNAL COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
- March 13, 2012, 7:20 p.m. ET
Another investor has filed a lawsuit against the Malkin family's plan to take public the Empire State Building and other properties, marking the third such effort attacking the initial public offering in two weeks.
This one gets more personal.
The complaint, filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court, echoes the language of the first two lawsuits, alleging that the Malkins received excess fees for their role as manager of the building and that the proposed sale is structured to benefit their own interests at the expense of other investors.
Like its predecessors, the complaint asks the court to block any sale that isn't "fair and equitable" to the 2,800 investors in the Empire State Building ownership group.
But it also goes further, asking the court to remove the Malkins as supervisor and fiduciary for the proposed new company as well as for the existing partnerships that own the famous skyscraper and other properties to be wrapped into the real-estate investment trust.
A spokeswoman for the Malkins said in a statement: "This is a baseless lawsuit and it goes without saying that we will vigorously oppose it."
—Craig Karmin
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