The family feud over a prime Meatpacking District building is growing even more complicated now that Michael Shah of DelShah Capital claims to have bought 55 Gansevoort St. — even though his lawyers admitted in court that no sale had occurred.
Robert Romanoff — a beneficiary and trustee of a family trust who lives in the building with his wife and son — is in court trying to keep the apartment while a court-appointed receiver, Bradley Silverbush, is seeking to evict them for non-payment of $500,000 in rent.
Robert claims his father, Gerald Romanoff, also a trustee of the entity that controls the building, ran up massive debts on the property and did not have the authority to cut a deal with Shah that cancels those debts in exchange for the building.
Gerald’s attorneys contend he has authority and, indeed, Shah’s attorney, William F. Savino, told The Post that they have a deed in lieu of foreclosure that has been filed with the city.
In June, in yet another courtroom, Judge Anil C. Singh, who has been trying to sort out the various trusts and what the trustees are entitled to do, permitted a trustee caught in the middle to resign.
Robert claims he and his son Nicholas are entitled to pay off the mortgage with funds provided by his white knights at Orbis Capital Advisors.
However, Robert claims that Shah, who paid $30 million to buy the first mortgage and senior liens on the property from Capital One Bank and others, won’t allow him to pay off the mortgage.
Meanwhile, Shah sent out a press release last week, claiming he had purchased the five-story, 26,000-square-foot building even though his lawyer told a judge no sale had taken place.
At a hearing July 31 before Judge O. Peter Sherwood, a transcript shows he was advised by Shah’s attorney that there was no motion for a judgment of foreclosure and that it would be “months” before a foreclosure sale is scheduled.
That led Sherwood to tell Romanoff’s attorney that “they would have to come before me to approve any sale, if there was a sale.”
“He is trying to steal the building,” said Matt Flocks of Orbis Capital, which teamed with Robert.
Savino said Shah has already spent “eight figures” buying the liens and “there’s no theft here.”
