Saudi prince wants Trump building’s ‘grossly disproportionate’ rent lawsuit thrown out
Image courtesy of CityRealty
Trump Park Avenue LLC, a unit of President Trump’s company, sued Faisal bin Abdul Majeed al-Saud in February claiming the Saudi prince signed a lease on the Manhattan condo at 502 Park Avenue in 2013 but hasn’t paid rent since January 2017. Bloomberg reports that according to a complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court, the Trump Organization says the defendant agreed in June 2014 to extend his lease through June 2019. The defendant, on the other hand, says the landlord failed to comply with lease’s terms and is asking the judge to toss out a lawsuit seeking almost $2 million in unpaid rent, claiming that he gave back the keys to the penthouse last year.
The prince claims Trump Park Avenue was notified in 2015 that he no longer had any use for the penthouse and that the Trump Organization insisted on acting through a company-selected broker who demanded an “inflated rental amount in order to prop up sagging values in the building.” The prince’s attorneys have requested a court hearing on April 27.
For its part, Trump Park Avenue wants not only back rent but more than $1.9 million in additional rent; the organization claims that the lease modification included rent increases through 2019, specifically $115,762.50 per month beginning in July 2017. The new rent far exceeds the already excessive-sounding $75,000 monthly outlay listed with the 7,132 square-foot unit that same month. Bruce Wiener, a lawyer for the prince, says Trump Park Avenue’s claim to $1.9 million in “future rent” is “grossly disproportionate” to any actual damages and is an “unenforceable penalty.”
Image courtesy of Town Residential
The penthouse is currently listed with Town Residential and at CityRealty as a short-term rental for $75K a month.
[Via Bloomberg]
