Another Penthouse Buyer Sues El-Ad

A penthouse buyer at The Grand Madison condo at 225 Fifth Avenue has sued El-Ad Properties for $6.4 million claiming fraud and a breach of contract, according to this morning's Wall Street Journal. It's the third lawsuit filed against El-Ad this year involving sales of apartments built on the roofs of existing buildings off Fifth Avenue; the other two involved condos at The Plaza.

In early September, The Observer revealed a Plaza lawsuit by Russian financier Andrei Vavilov, who wanted the return of his $10.7 million deposit on a two-unit penthouse. Mr. Vavilov claimed he was the victim of a bait-and-switch. The Post reported, also in early September, that another Plaza penthouse buyer was suing El-Ad over breach of contract.

El-Ad called the latest suit, at the Grand Madison, "baseless" and the buyer's obligations to honor the purchase contract "rock solid," according to the Journal.