The Mondrian Soho will officially transition to its new brand — NoMo SoHo — after a judge ruled today that Alex Sapir and Rotem Rosen’s ASRR Capital can push the former management company out.
ASRR purchased the swanky hotel out of foreclosure for $205 million earlier this year, and has since been engaged in a struggle with Jason Kalisman’s Morgans Hotel Management, which had a long-term contract with the former owners, according to the New York Post.
The decision comes after a dramatic episode last week in which Sapir tried to oust Morgans in the middle of the night by taking over the hotel’s systems and slipping notes under guests’ doors announcing the new brand. The judge put a temporary restraining order in place, but as of today, the path is clear for ASRR to take over.
Both sides were ordered to submit a plan for the orderly transition of management by May 1.
“We want to succeed or fail on our own abilities and with our own management team,” said Bruce Kaplan, the attorney representing ASRR.
Morgans still has a claim for $110 million in damages that court has not yet decided.
“While we are disappointed in the court’s decision to order a transfer of operations at Mondrian SoHo, we will continue to pursue our damages claim [against Sapir] for willful breach of our management contract,” a Morgans spokesman told the newspaper. [NYP] — Tess Hofmann