Eight-Claim Usury and Home-Equity-Theft Action Dismissed at the Pleading Stage
Sellers who received $1.825 million for a distressed Water Mill property reacquired it for about $2.78 million, then sued on eight claims of home-equity theft, predatory lending and usury. All were dismissed at the pleading stage.
All 8 claims
dismissed at the pleadings
- Resolved
- Public court
- Judge
- Justice Linda Kevins
The situation
Q Management Properties LLC bought a distressed Water Mill property for $1.825 million. The transaction allowed the sellers to remain in place for 18 months and retain the upside from a subsequent sale above an agreed return. After reacquiring the property through their own LLC for approximately $2.78 million, the sellers sued, seeking to recast the arrangement as unlawful lending and asserting eight claims involving home equity theft, predatory lending, and usury.
The approach
The defense turned on the broad general releases exchanged at the reacquisition closing, demonstrating that their scope barred each of the asserted claims.
The outcome
All claims against Q Management were obtained dismissed at the pleading stage. The court enforced the releases and rejected the sellers' duress argument, finding that they had the assistance of counsel and failed to establish circumstances sufficient to invalidate their own agreement.
The full write-up
This page keeps the figures and the holding. The firm's own account of the matter, in full, is here:
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each matter is different, and the results described here were achieved on the specific facts of those matters.