Cem Uzan et al., Respondents, v. 845 UN Limited Partnership, Appellant, et al., Defendant., 10 A.D.3d 230

Summary

The brothers agreed to purchase two luxury penthouse condominiums, each on the 90th floor of the tallest residential building in the world. After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the brothers defaulted on the purchases. The appellate court held that the brothers were not entitled to a return of any portion of their down payment. The down payment was a specifically negotiated element of the contracts, and an arm's length transaction. The parties were sophisticated businesspeople, represented by counsel, who spent two months at the bargaining table before executing the amended purchase agreements. Further, it was customary in the pre-construction luxury condominium industry for parties to price the risk of default at 25 percent of the purchase price. The purchase agreements included a detailed non-refundable down payment clause, to which the brothers' counsel had negotiated a specific amendment. Finally, there was no evidence of a disparity of bargaining power, or of ...