A former owner of the Shore Club in South Beach sued developer Witkoff and its financial backer on the project, Monroe Capital, alleging it was illegally cut out of its share of ownership in the oceanfront property through a “crooked and secretive land grab.”
An entity tied to The Clark Estates, the family of the late newspaper publisher and businessman Stephen Carlton Clark, is seeking at least $125 million in damages, which is the amount it expected to receive from a previously planned project on the site. SC Philips Clark LLC filed the lawsuit in New York this week, as first reported by Commercial Observer. It adds to a slew of lawsuits that have involved the Art Deco hotel.
Former partner with HFZ alleges Monroe conducted illegal UCC foreclosure of the oceanfront hotel
The complaint alleges that Steven Witkoff, who heads the New York-based firm, “appears to have hatched and orchestrated the scheme” to ultimately erase SC Philips Clark’s interest in the Shore Club, a 3-acre property at 1901 Collins Avenue. The lawsuit claims that Witkoff and Monroe violated the profit participation agreement that was put in place to safeguard SC Philips Clark’s stake.
