The plaintiffs, however, contended that “all of the information that was provided through their broker was accurate and that regardless, the language of the purchase and sales agreement barred the claims that were asserted,” Gormally tells GlobeSt.com. And, in fact, he adds, the plaintiff's produced evidence that the purchasers were actually prepared to bid even higher than the contract price and had internally valued the property at least $50 million more than their offer because of the comprehensive scope of the portfolio. The transaction, which consisted of some 16,800 residential units, also included assets in New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

“The court’s verdict was a complete vindication of the position asserted by the plaintiff since the inception of the case,” Gormally tells GlobeSt.com. “Each and every substantive position that we asserted on behalf of Westminster was found to be established by Judge Lombardi. Of particular importance is the idea that sophisticated real estate players like the defendant, even when represented by highly skilled transactional counsel, cannot successfully claim they were mislead under the circumstances of this case.”

Still, Bratsbies says that East Coast Residential does not agree with the outcome and is still trying to decide whether or not it wants to appeal. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to make an appeal because this money is sitting in escrow and they know that they can delay the ultimate disposition of it,” Gormally says.

Along with Gormally, the plaintiff was represented by David Klein, counsel at Brach Eichler, and Barry Felder and Akiva Cohen of Foley Lardner in New York City. In addition to Bratsbies, the defendants were represented by Gerald Liloia, also of Riker Danzig.