Residents at luxe tower sue over secret deal to sell, evict

Fashion mogul Tory Burch and a slew of ritzy residents at a famous Fifth Avenue tower are suing over an allegedly shady, secret deal to sell the building and evict the residents, according to new court papers.

Burch and the other embittered elites living at the historic Pierre Hotel say the deal, reportedly valued at $2 billion, has been shrouded in darkness, with the board refusing to produce even basic information to the shareholders.

The Pierre — which has been the home to celebrities such as Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Yves Saint Laurent, Aristotle Onassis and Art Garfunkel — is now “under threat of being sold right out from under them without their consent,” the suit claims.

The miffed elites claim that the board signed a term-sheet, or a tentative sale, with a mystery buyer without bringing the deal to a full vote before the co-op’s wealthy residents.

While the deal could make the rich residents even richer, it would require the building to be emptied within a year, the suit claims, and anyone who fails to leave would “forfeit their share of the proceeds.”

A 90-day due-diligence window closes on Nov. 11, meaning the sale could wrap up within days, the suit claims.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday and led by Burch through her LLC, Autumn River, asks the court to accept their “emergency” application to “compel production of books and records.”

“Over the vehement objections of many residents who have no desire to leave, the Board, under the sway of the Sale Proponents and their outside advisors, has insisted on pushing forward with its sale agenda while keeping shareholders utterly in the dark about the process,” the suit states. 

Those claims are rejected by the board, who say the suit is just hot air.

“The Board remains committed to allowing shareholders to understand and vote on options for the Pierre,” attorney for the board Michael C. Keats told The Post. “

Representatives of the corporation are in negotiations and prior to any shareholder a vote, the shareholders will have a full understanding of the facts and the terms to make an informed decision.”  

Co-op boards are groups of elected residents who act as the corporation’s board of directors. The members are usually voted on by other residents, who are shareholders — not owners — of their apartments, and sometimes clash over issues like renovations and mismanagement.

In a contentious September meeting — where longtime VIP residents of 795 Fifth Ave. virtually vented over the secret negotiations — “the Board admitted that it did not know who the Purchaser was,” the suit claims, beyond listing shell companies associated with the Saudi-based Khashoggi Holding Company, nor had they produced proof that the buyer could finance the massive deal.

A source told Page Six of the meeting that Buch, who has lived at the prized address since 2001 and had raised her kids there, “lost her usual cool and reserved demeanor.” 

The meeting also revealed that the board had rejected a competing offer from current owner Taj Hotel, which would have included “substantial renovations of the building and permitted residents to retain ownership of their homes,” and declined to specify why it was rejected, the suit states.

“This course of conduct is fundamentally at odds with Board members’ fiduciary obligations,” the filing reads. 

The New York Times claimed that penthouse owner, Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, was behind the push to sell, but insiders told Page Six that his involvement was overblown.

Since the meeting, the suit notes that the board claimed the term sheet was “non-binding and subject to shareholder approval.” 

Letters included with the filing state that the board “continues to stonewall” attempts to learn more about the deal, and ignored demands that the board produce extensive records of their interactions with the secret buyer.

The board’s “flagrant refusal” to respond to requests by Burch and others has led them to suspect that “the Board is seeking to conceal other flaws in its processes, including potentially undisclosed conflicts of interest and excessive fees,” the suit reads.

Reps for Burch and the other residents behind the suit did not respond to a request for comment.