Kasowitz Prevails Twice on Behalf of Real Estate Developer Rotem Rosen in Family Dispute against Alex Sapir

Kasowitz Benson Torres, on behalf of real estate developer Rotem Rosen, has defeated a motion to dismiss in a lawsuit against his former business partner Alex Sapir and, in a separate lawsuit, obtained dismissal of misappropriation of trade secrets and other claims brought by Mr. Sapir against Mr. Rosen.  Both cases were decided on September 30, 2021, by Judge Ronnie Abrams, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In the first case, Mr. Rosen defeated a motion to dismiss his lawsuit against his former business partner Alex Sapir, as well as a company owned by Sapir which is a co-owner of 260-261 Madison Avenue.  The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Sapir defaulted on a promissory note he issued to pay for Rosen’s half of certain joint assets when Sapir refinanced a mezzanine line of credit on 260 and 261 Madison Avenue, contrary to the terms of the deal, and when he sued Rosen in a frivolous action in New York State Court, in contravention of a mutual release and covenant not to sue between the former partners.  Rosen seeks a declaration accelerating the note in the amount of over $47.5 million.  Rosen’s suit also seeks damages for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. 

Judge Abrams upheld Mr. Rosen’s claim seeking declaratory judgment that a refinancing default has occurred, noting that “Defendants’ behavior supports a reasonable inference that they were concealing a refinancing default.”  Judge Abrams also upheld Mr. Rosen’s claim of breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

In the second case, Mr. Sapir and affiliated entities brought claims of fraud, breach of contract, and misappropriation of trade secrets against Mr. Rosen and his brother Omer Rosen.  Judge Abrams found that plaintiffs failed to adequately allege the sole federal claim of misappropriation of trade secrets, and dismissed the remaining state court claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

The Kasowitz team representing Mr. Rosen is led by partner Sheron Korpus and includes special counsel David M. Max. 

Select news coverage:

• The Real Deal: Dismissed: Alex Sapir’s $100M lawsuit against Rotem Rosen
• Commercial Observer: Judge Dismisses Sapir’s Trade Secret Charge Against Rosen Brothers