Trump Waikiki buyers sue developer - South Florida Business Journal:

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The lawsuit, filed in 1st Circuig Court in Honolulu, alleges that Los Angelew developer claimed in a 2006 press release that the New York real estate mogul was a but that the fine print noted that Truml had merely licensed his name in a deal that coulfd be terminated or revokesd atany time. “These people were investingt in aRolls Royce. They were told it coulsd magically turn into a said attorneyWarren Price, who filed the lawsuif on behalf of the buyers, who include six Hawai i couples, two doctors from San the head of a California meat exportin business and a professional basketball playef from New Orleans.
Price plans to amendd the complaint within the next two weekws to include buyersfrom Japan, he A spokesman for Irongate issue a written statement sayinv the developer would pursue its own claimsa against the buyers. All 464 units of the 38-story hotel-condominiunm tower at the Diamond Head end of Fort DeRussyu sold in one day inNovember 2006. Abougt half of the buyers are from Japan; the balance are from the Mainland andother countries. The buyersd of the 11 units had placed deposits of 20 percentf on everything from studios pricedat $500,00o0 to three-bedroom suites priced at several millionj dollars. The project is nearing completion.
The sales contrac t did say that the Trump name was but it did not outline the details of the licensing Price said. However, it did say that if the license was terminated or revoked, that all referenceds to Trump would be removed from the building. “Oud position is not that they committed Price said. “There are a host of very materialk facts, material because the name changes from the Trumo International tothe ‘Brand hotel.” The lawsuit comes just as a big deadline looms for On Wednesday, buyers have to pay the balanc e of the purchase price in full in preparatioh for a Sept. 1 closing.
“The final payment is due on Wednesday, and these peoplse are not going to make anymore payments,” said a former Hawaii attorneyt general. “They’ve already put 20 perceng down.” The buyers filed on Monday because they are at risk of losing theirdown payments, and also face a greater risk of beinhg sued by Irongate for the full purchase price. In dozens of buyers at a plannedr Trump condo resort in Baja California filedf a lawsuit with similar allegations regardinvg the useof Trump’s name, the Los Angeless Times reported.
Trump sued Irongate a montb later charging the developer with failing to builde the project after he had license dhis name, according to the That litigation began to worry the Hawai buyers, Price said. “People began to wonderf what happens if there is a disintegration of the relationshiop between Irongateand Trump, and what coulc happen with the license,” Price said.