"It's an unfortunate situation," Durst co-president Douglas Durst tells GlobeSt.com. "Our fight with Cigna is basically due to Cigna's stupidity."
The court's action is the latest in litigation that centers on whether The Durst Organization should be required to purchase terrorism insurance to supplement the insurance already in place on its 1.6-million-sf tower, more commonly known as the Conde Nast Building. Cigna is the special servicer, and LaSalle the major lender, for the mortgage on the building. The Durst Organization maintains that its existing mortgage insurance on the property, located on the east side of Seventh Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Streets, fulfills all of its legal obligations to the mortgage holders.
State Supreme Court Justice Rosalyn Richter rejected the lenders' claims that circumstances have changed since the Appellate Division granted a temporary injunction. "Even if this court were to accept defendants' argument that the case now presents some new issues, defendants still have failed to show that they cannot be adequately compensated by monetary damages," Richter ruled.
Warren A. Estis, partner in Rosenberg & Estis, representing The DurstOrganization, says the ruling is consistent with the Appellate Division's earlier determination but also "protects the Dursts from attempts to default them or extract any fees or penalties based on claims of new circumstances."
Expressing his frustration over the ongoing litigation, Durst says his firm "will never do business with Cigna again. We've had no choice but to fight. We've suggested ways of settling this dispute and never get anywhere." Cigna did not respond by deadline to a request for comment on this issue.
Four Times Square, built in the mid-1990s, was the first new office development in the rejuvenated Times Square district and is credited with helping to spur the district's dramatic makeover.The tower also is regarded as one of the most environmentally friendly major office buildings in the world.
A final decision in the case is expected in 12 to 18 months.
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