Shaya Boymelgreen, the haredi developer with close ties to Chabad and to Chabad's oligarch, Lev Leviev, ended up in court over fraudulant transfer of property leases. Boymelgreen lost. The New York Daily news reports:
…"The leases in question clearly and unambiguously required tenants to first obtain the written consent of the landlords before any assignment of the leases," [Judge Ira] Harkavy ruled in an 18-page decision invalidating both leases.
Weinstein leased his property to Brooklyn developer Shaya Boymelgreen in 1999, but he didn't expect Boymelgreen to sell the leases to Forest City Ratner, Weinstein said.
Weinstein, a critic of the Atlantic Yards project, never gave consent to the deal between Boymelgreen and Ratner, which would have allowed the latter to hold onto the leases until 2048.
"We believed from the beginning that Ratner and Boymelgreen had no right to do what they did, so this decision is no surprise," said Candace Carponter, a member of the opposition group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. "As far as I'm concerned, this decision is unassailable upon appeal."
The $4.2 billion project calls for a pro basketball arena for the NBA's Nets and 16 towers with residential and commercial space, including property near Weinstein's Carlton Ave. building.…
Another report mentions that Boymelgreen sent Weinstein a letter requesting the sale. When Weinstein did not respond within ten days, Boymelgreen sold the leases. (There is no time restriction clause in the lease.) Boymelgreen sent that letter to the wrong address, probably intentionally.
This same judge, Ira Harkavy, has ruled in Chabad cases, as well. (PDF 1 and PDF 2)
[Hat Tip: LR for PDF 2.]