Relations between Fortress Investment Group and Cohen Brothers Realty have soured to the point of default claims and counter-lawsuits. In the middle of the fracas is a reported legal maneuver to use the Uniform Commercial Code rather than traditional court appearances to carry out a $533.6 million foreclosure.

Fortress took legal action in March over loans covering seven commercial properties, alleging the default, as Business of Home reported. Cohen Brothers sought to have the suit dismissed, claiming the move resulted from a "11th hour" reversal on a deal between the two that was part of a plan to create a default on the part of Cohen Brothers, as Crain's New York Business reported. In 2023, a Fortress executive speaking at an event of The Real Deal said that the company doesn't make loans as a way to take over properties.

A "we said, they said" story but one that has taken an interesting twist as Fortress uses a Uniform Commercial Code foreclosure that offers a faster path to resolution.