Lender Targets Avi Philipson, Others for Alleged Defaults

Paragraph Partners’ Avi Philipson is facing a lawsuit involving loans for nearly a dozen Brooklyn buildings, a case bringing the All Year Holdings team back to the limelight.

U.S. Bank, the trustee of holders of the securitized trust, filed 11 pre-foreclosure actions in Brooklyn Supreme Court last week, PincusCo reported. The actions relate to separate loans that total $25.5 million.

The property loans range from below $1 million to $3.3 million and are largely on buildings of fewer than 10 units. While all of the filings list All Year Holdings founder Yoel Goldman as a defendant, only some list All Year Management co-founder David Friedman and only some list Philipson’s firm.

The circumstances are different for each loan, but follow similar lines. At 145 Driggs Avenue, for example, the guarantor allegedly defaulted on the Greystone-originated loan in February. The eight-unit, 6,000-square-foot property was last valued by the city two years ago at $2.3 million.

Philipson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Real Deal, nor did Friedman, who moved on to Smart Management and cut ties with All Year as it collapsed. (Friedman later claimed he sold his shares in Smart Management.)

Nearly 18 months ago, Philipson bought All Year’s bankrupt Brooklyn portfolio. His firm put in $43.5 million in equity to take control of the 133-properties, under the terms of a court-approved deal. The equity represented 10 percent of the portfolio’s overall $435 million value.

Philipson and an investor group originally agreed to buy the portfolio for $60 million in 2022, but tried to reduce the price when interest rates soared, nearly sabotaging the deal’s closing.

Restructuring officers took over All Year and put it into bankruptcy in late 2021 after it faced threats of lawsuits and foreclosures. The company also sought to sell assets to pay off creditors, including Israeli bondholders.

— Holden Walter-Warner