Appellate Court Affirms Win for American Realty Capital in Litigation Involving Acquisition of Worldwide Plaza

December 8, 2016 – The Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed an earlier decision Morrison Cohen won on behalf of American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. and American Realty Capital New York Recovery REIT, Inc. (“ARC”), which granted ARC's motion for partial summary and denied RXR WWP Owner LLC's (“RXR”) cross motion to vacate the stay on discovery.

The litigation originated with RXR's claim for breach of contract and its attempt to recover “lost profits” based on allegations that ARC violated a confidentiality agreement it had with RXR by using confidential information that was shared by RXR in July 2013 when RXR and ARC were contemplating a joint venture in the Worldwide Plaza building (which was ultimately not entered into because RXR elected to proceed with another entity).

The Appellate Court affirmed that “the motion court properly found that plaintiff failed to establish that lost profits are recoverable here.  There is nothing in the Confidentiality Agreement which would support a finding that the parties contemplated lost profits as an element of damages in the event of breach.” … “Plaintiff's claimed need for discovery, unsupported by any evidentiary basis to suggest that the same may lead to relevant evidence, is insufficient to deny summary judgment.” (Click here to read decision.)