Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Tuesday, December 06, 2016
Lawsuit Triggers Tug-Of-War Between Ailing 93-Year Old Media Billionaire & Ex-Girlfriend Over 'Promised Gift' Of $3.75 Million NYC Penthouse Apartment; She Says Her Name's Already On The Deed
In New York City, the New York Post reports:
Ailing media titan Sumner Redstone is suing to prevent his ex-girlfriend from inheriting a $3.75 million penthouse apartment at the Hotel Carlyle.
Redstone bought the East 76th Street pad in March 2015, promising to gift it to then-partner Manuela Herzer when he died, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
“Redstone no longer wants to leave the apartment to Herzer upon his death,” the suit says, but “Herzer now refuses to relinquish her claim to [it].”
Herzer had signed an agreement in 2015 acknowledging that the Viacom founder purchased the penthouse with his own funds and that it “belongs exclusively to Sumner” until his death, the suit says.
He has paid the $23,900 a month in maintenance fees since the purchase, the suit says.
In April, Redstone, 93, and Herzer, 52, settled another case in which she agreed to take only a fraction of the $70 million she stood to inherit to drop claims that he wasn’t competent.
Herzer’s lawyer, Ronald Richards, called the Hotel Carlyle suit “another frivolous filing that it is hard to believe is being orchestrated by Mr. Sumner Redstone and not his daughter Shari.”
Shari and her father control the family’s $40 billion media empire, which includes Viacom’s MTV, Comedy Central and the Paramount Pictures Hollywood studio — plus CBS and Showtime.
Richards has claimed that Shari has influenced her father to file the suit over the apartment, plus another pending action over millions in gifts he gave to Herzer.
“My client was given a notarized recorded grant deed to the property establishing a joint tenancy,” Richards said.
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
<< Home