A group of investors sued several Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc real estate partnerships on Friday, saying they would not have invested had they known the partnerships were buying property from Lehman at far above fair value. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court on behalf of more than 50 investors who said they committed to invest at least $52.75 million in the partnerships.
A Lehman representative declined to comment. According to the complaint, the partnerships used the money to buy real estate from Lehman from the middle of 2007 through 2008, at prices they knew were excessive in light of the commercial real estate market's deterioration at the time.
"While others booked sizable real estate losses in 2007, Lehman recorded only modest writedowns, despite having multiplied its high exposure to real estate investments that year with highly-leveraged and unadvised purchases," the complaint said. The plaintiffs said the partnerships' deception caused them to be unaware of the risks they faced by investing and resulted in their suffering losses.
They are seeking to rescind their limited partnership agreements, be made whole for their losses and other remedies. Lehman filed for Chapter 11 protection on September 15, 2008, in what remains by far the largest US bankruptcy. Some of its major assets have been sold or spun off, while others are being wound down. The case is Fried et al v. Lehman Brothers Real Estate Associates III LP et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No 09-9100.
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