When Irv Picard makes a promise, he keeps it. A few days ago, the trustee overseeing the Madoff mess said he planned to file a lawsuit against several other members of the Madoff clan—including Bernie's brother, two sons, and niece—for treating the family firm like a "piggy bank." And today he delivered, filing an action in federal bankruptcy court seeking the return of $199 million.
Hedge fund mogul Dan Loeb paid $45 million for one of the city's poshest apartments last year, a 10,000-square-foot penthouse at 15 Central Park West. His move-in, however, didn't go so smoothly, it seems. It's unclear what took place precisely, but the moving company that Loeb and his wife Margaret hired to help them settle in, Auer's Moving & Rigging, filed a lawsuit against the couple in Manhattan Supreme Court earlier this year claiming breach of contract. (Panorama on the Park LLC, which is also listed as a defendant, is the company Loeb set up to acquire the property.) The high-end moving company is demanding that Loeb cough up the $98,689.07 which it says it's owed. Last week, though, an attorney for the Loebs responded to the suit by filing a motion to dismiss. So what went wrong? Was the prickly hedge fund manager's grand piano damaged by a faulty crane? Did a burly mover accidentally step on Biggie, the couple's miniature pinscher? The legal papers don't indicate why Loeb decided to withhold payment—let's hope that Biggie wasn't harmed—but you can review the documents for yourself below.
The Madoff show goes on. In an interview that aired on last night's 60 Minutes, court-appointed trustee Irving Picard said he plans to file a civil suit against Bernie sons, Mark and Andy, this week which will seek the return of $198 million. And just so no one in the immediate family feels left out, he'll be suing Bernie's brother Peter and niece Shana, too. [Dealbook]
Many people are pissed off at bankers in the wake of the financial crisis. Dalton Chiscolm is angrier than most. He's filed a lawsuit against Bank of America for "$1,784 billion trillion," damages he says he deserves because BofA didn't deposit a couple of checks into his checking account. (As for how much "$1,784 billion trillion" actually is, it's approximately 9 trillion times more than Bank of America is worth.) The good news: The judge assigned to the case is Denny Chin who presided over Bernie Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme case, so he's used to big numbers. [Daily Finance, Dealbreaker]
Simon van Kempen and wife Alex McCord of the Real Housewives of New York City spent much of Fashion Week attending parties for the free champagne and gift bags. One of his employees, however, clearly wasn't in the mood to party. Last week a maintenance worker at the crummy hotel that van Kempen manages, the Hotel Chandler, slapped the property with a lawsuit for refusing to pay workers for overtime, a violation of New York's labor laws. Does this mean Simon's chances of winning the award for "Hotel Manager of the Year" are now totally dashed? While you ponder that very real possibility, you can look at the full lawsuit after the jump.
• Michelle Obama had lunch at Gramercy Tavern today; chaos ensued. [BB]
• The Jane Hotel drama continues: Apparently an article about the hotel/club's outraged neighbors was supposed to run in the Times last weekend, but the Jane's co-owner Richard Born managed to get the paper to quash it. [Curbed]
• Trader Joe's may be opening a location on Sixth Avenue and 21st St. [NYO]
• The competition between Greenhouse and Provocateur is heating up. [P6]
• Dean Poll sure is off to a great start: Union workers say they're planning to hold a rally outside Tavern on the Green on Friday afternoon. [Crain's]
• The lawsuit filed by ex-Masa employees for getting shafted out of the 20% service charge added to diners' tabs? A judge says it can move forward. [Eater]
• Guinness is celebrating its 250th birthday today. Cheers. [Serious Eats]
Back in April, two photographers reported that bodyguards hired by Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady to keep the media away from the couple's wedding party in Costa Rica roughed them up and fired shots at them when they attempted to snap pics of the event. Today the duo filed a lawsuit against the couple, and they're now asking for $1 million in damages. But let's back up for a moment. Why did the two photographers even bother to try and take pictures of the party in the first place? Well, Brady, you see, is a really famous quarterback. And Gisele? She's a famous "international fashion model." But just in case that's not enough of a justification for you, bear in mind that they're "beautiful people who attract the paparazzi." So, you know, they probably should have expected something like this would happen. The full suit is below.
It was looking pretty bleak there for awhile, but Annie Leibovitz appears to have been rescued from the brink of financial disaster. She's reached a settlement with Art Capital Group over the $24 million loan it provided her last year. Terms of the agreement weren't disclosed, but at least there's only one less Condé Nast photographer headed to a courtroom in the near future. [BN]
