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Citigroup Wins $85.7 Million Ruling in Solow Lawsuit (Update1)

Hmmm..this might be why C was up today..LOL

By Patricia Hurtado

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. won a judgment allowing it to collect $85.7 million from billionaire real- estate developer Sheldon H. Solow.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried said today he was granting Citigroup’s request for summary judgment, or a verdict before trial. A dispute about Citigroup’s claims for fees and damages will be sent to a referee, Fried said in a ruling from the bench.

“I intend to grant Citibank’s summary judgment motion in its entirety,” Fried said.

Citigroup’s Citibank NA unit sued Solow in 2008, saying he failed to make payments on a $503 million line of credit it provided to develop a site in New York along the East River.

In an answer to the complaint, Solow said the New York- based bank rebuffed his offer to provide more collateral. Instead, Citigroup sold the initial collateral for millions of dollars less than fair market value, Solow said in court documents.

Solow has plans to build six waterfront apartment towers and a 1.4 million square-foot office tower on the 10-acre site, according to the New York Department of City Planning.

Solow’s lawyers accused Citigroup of filing discovery motions to “fish for some new ground” on which to base its seizure and selling of his collateral, after the reports it did receive failed to justify the action.

Marc Weinstein, a lawyer for Citigroup, and Richard Weill, a lawyer for Solow, declined to comment on today’s ruling. spokesman for Solow couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

The case is Citibank NA v. Solow, 603697/2008, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Hurtado in New York Supreme Courthouse at [e-mail].

Last Updated: March 25, 2010 17:02 EDT


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=auC2Ihxdiwqw