The construction of a Delray Beach mixed-used development is facing a delay. One of the two developers who’d partnered together to oversee the $100 million Midtown Delray Beach project has sued the other. The plaintiff accuses his business partner of having attempted to sell the property to a prospective buyer without consent. The latter has also filed a lawsuit requesting to complete the purchase of the development.
County records currently list the principals as both Marshall Florida Investments and Hudson Holdings as the Florida partners who own the seven-acre development. They apparently paid $26 million for the West Atlantic Avenue site.
According to those same records, a sale of the property to the Boca Raton firm of Pebb Enterprises was originally negotiated back in January. That developer apparently neglected to close on the $40 million deal by the agreed-to Feb. 28 deadline. By March 21, Hudson Holdings and two of its affiliates had filed suit against Marshall Florida Investments and Pebb Enterprises in Palm Beach Circuit Court.
Hudson Holdings’ filing accuses both Pebb and Marshall of having conspired to try to get an extended purchase deadline accepted. It also highlights how, had they been successful, Hudson would have lost as much as $20 million. They allege that Pebb’s actions interfered with the contract and that Marshall breached it by taking the steps that they did.
Delray Midtown Properties, an affiliate of Pebb, filed their own lawsuit on April 16. In it, they demanded to be allowed to close on Midtown Delray Beach. The firm cited that it was the sellers’ fault that they were unable to purchase the development as they were contracted to do by Feb. 28. They noted that they had failed to provide several requested documents as part of the due-diligence review necessary to finalize the sale.
The principal at Hudson Holdings has said that he expects for the legal matter to be resolved swiftly but stopped short of saying why he believes that to be the case.
Real estate transactions, contract negotiations, bankruptcy filings and civil disputes involving individuals are handled quite differently from those among Melbourne business entities. When multimillion-dollar deals are at stake, having a knowledgeable and experienced construction litigation attorney on your side can make a difference in your case.
