Landlord files suit against former Dewey partners for outstanding rent

Dewey & Leboeuf’s New York landlord has filed a suit against 450 of the defunct law firm’s former partners, alleging the individuals are liable for more than a million dollars in unpaid rent.

In a claim filed last Thursday (26 September), landlord 1301 Properties Owner LP alleges the firm’s former partners owe $1.6m (£1m) for rent due prior to the firm’s bankruptcy in April 2012.

The 17-page complaint also claims the firm or its partners have failed to make “deficiency” payments the landlord says it is owed in the event of a default, with the exception of a $78,900 one-off sum ordered by the court. These payments could considerably increase the amount for which former partners are liable following the collapse of the firm.

The suit cites a 1989 agreement between the landlord and legacy Dewey Ballantine Bushby Palmer & Wood, which the plaintiff claims leaves partners “jointly and severally liable for all amounts that are due and will become due under the lease”.

The landlord also claims Dewey’s partners had failed to pay any of its expenses related to repossessions costs, legal fees and alteration costs incurred by re-letting the premises.

Rosenberg & Estis, New York real estate lawyers acting for the landlord, have asked a New York bankruptcy court to decide whether partners are liable for rent and legal fees.

Last September, Chadbourne & Parke signed a 20-year agreement to lease half the space left unoccupied after Dewey’s collapse, although the firm has yet to move in to the property.

 —Culled from LegalWeek