The dispute originated from the sale of a building in 1997. It has seen countless man-hours by attorneys and dozens of witnesses. The panel said despite the case put forth by Wien & Malkin, which is the supervisor of the partnerships that own the Empire State Building. "The arbitration panel disregarded a mountain of evidence in this decision," says Jonathan Siegfried, attorney for Malkin.

Siegfried asserts that the panel did not consider the testimony of property management firm Jones Lang LaSalle, who claimed properties managed by Helmsley-Spear consistently under performed the market when compared to equivalent buildings. Siegfried also notes that Helmsley-Spear, which once managed 50 million sf of property in New York, now manages less than 10 million.

Malkin had filed suit against Leona Helmsley, the widow of Harry Helmsley, when the case against Helmsley-Spear was first brought forward. Malkin charged her with mismanaging properties and not fulfilling financial obligations as the result of illegal conduct. While the case against Helmsley was dropped, the current case has now, because of the submission of papers seeking to vacate the panel's decision, entered yet another phase.