Y. David Scharf Featured in Press Regarding Developer Client Suing Holdout Tenant’s Attorney

Morrison Cohen Chair and Co-Managing Partner Y. David Scharf has been featured in several press outlets recently regarding a complaint filed by client Naftali Group that accuses attorney Adam Leitman Bailey, who is representing a sole holdout tenant, of abusing the legal system to delay the developer’s project at 215 West 84th Street. Naftali is seeking $25 million in damages.

Articles in The Real Deal, New York Law Journal, and Patch all discuss the complaint, written by Partner Christopher Milito, which argues that Bailey’s frequent appearances in the press are an orchestrated, “malicious media campaign.” In a May 5 The Real Deal article entitled “Heavyweight Lawyers at War in Naftali Holdout Drama,” Scharf was quoted as saying, “Adam is not seeking a legitimate judicial outcome here. He’s abusing the system for delay’s sake to force a cash payout. Frankly, he’s treating this as a game.”

A May 5 article in New York Law Journal entitled “Condo Developer Sues Alleged Holdover Tenant’s Attorney for $25M, Alleging ‘Malicious Media Campaign’” cites details of the complaint, which states that Bailey is stoking the media as a “shameless act of self-promotion.” Scharf referred to a photo that Bailey provided the New York Post of Ozsu holding a book written by Bailey, with the front cover facing the camera, “clearly an event staged by defendants to portray holdover occupant as the David versus the evil Goliath plaintiff.”

A May 3 Patch article entitled “UWS Developers File $25M Suit Over Holdout Tenant's 'Media Circus’” also delves into the court records, citing a portion of the complaint that states: "Unable to quickly extract the seven-figure payout he expects, his lawyers... have turned what should be a dispute settled according to the law into a multi-national media circus. [They have] taken the disreputable practice of holding out for payouts to new lows."

Click here to read The Real Deal article.

Click here to read the New York Law Journal article.

Click here to read the Patch article.