In a fight against another New York-based real estate powerhouse, Thor Equities has put down its hammer.
Weeks after filing a lawsuit in New York against three Lightstone Group executives, Joe Sitt’s firm discontinued it.
Thor had demanded $80 million, accusing Lightstone chairman David Lichtenstein and executives Mitchell Hochberg and Joseph Teichman of helping two former Thor executives breach their fiduciary duties.
Thor’s attorneys, Joseph Matalon and Stella Sainty of Wachtel Missry, did not include a reason for the decision in their notice to the court.
But Lightstone did weigh in.
“The New York case was considered a frivolous action, and gamesmanship by Thor,” said Solomon Klein, an attorney for the Lightstone executives.
While the New York case is over for now, the firms aren’t done duking it out. Thor is still suing Lightstone in Maryland. That case, filed in April 2021, remains active, with a seven-day jury trial scheduled for this week and next, according to court records.
The Maryland suit concerns a deal between Lightstone and Outreach Properties, a firm founded by former Thor executives Jonathan Scheinberg and Bill Hunter. Thor accuses Lightstone of working with Scheinberg and Hunter on a deal to acquire a pair of office buildings in Bethesda before they left Thor.
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The executives left Thor and founded Outshine Properties in 2020. The following year, Outshine and Lightstone purchased Skybridge Towers in Bethesda through a joint venture.
In the lawsuit, Thor alleged Lightstone’s Hochberg worked with Scheinberg and Hunter on the Maryland deal while they were still with Thor. It claimed that Scheinberg and Hunter used their Thor email addresses to gather information from property brokers.
Outshine, Thor and its attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.