Corcoran Sunshine Suing Billionaire's Row Supertall Developers For $30M

Real estate brokerage house Corcoran Sunshine is suing the developers of luxury condominium 111 West 57th St. for $30M, claiming it was unfairly terminated from marketing the units in the tower.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday against developers JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group, Corcoran argues a slew of lawsuits and infighting “undermined” the marketing firms attempts to sell units, The Real Deal reports.

Corcoran Sunshine also claims JDS and PMG breached its contract by sacking the firm for failing to meet sales targets. It is also suing Douglas Elliman, which replaced it at the building, claiming “tortious interference."

Corcoran Sunshine agreed that it would sell 25% of the units within 18 months, or a at least half the building within 30 months, according to TRD. The firm argues that it is the developers’ fault, as well as the weaker luxury market, those sales goals weren’t met.

The building — slated to reach 1,400 feet — has met with a series of construction delays, complex lawsuits and, at one point, went into foreclosure. Corcoran Sunshine claims the negative publicity put off buyers. It also alleges the developers cut their budget and curtailed staff.

“We have worked successfully with Corcoran on other developments and hope to do so in the future,” JDS Development Group founder Michael Stern said in a statement on behalf of the development team. “We respect the team at Corcoran Sunshine and hope to resolve this matter amicably.”

He said the suit was “entirely without merit" and "unfortunate."

“We expect that our clients will honor their obligations and if they don’t, we will pursue the legal remedies to which we are entitled," Corcoran CEO Pam Liebman told TRD.

Last month, Madison Realty Capital provided a $90M cash injection to the building.

As a result, a new ownership arrangement was formed, giving Madison a stake with Spruce Capital Partners alongside PMG and JDS.