WeWork and Adam Neumann are teaming up once again, this time to discredit an August lawsuit brought by former landlord Sapir Organization.
The landlord has stated that WeWork abandoned its lease at a Midtown building in March of last year that was intended to run through 2028 and now owes around $17 million in damages. Neumann is named in the lawsuit as the person who guaranteed WeWork’s lease at the office building.
According to the lawsuit, an entity related to the Sapir Organization said it became aware of WeWork surrendering the lease after reading a report in The Real Deal early last year. The entity also stated WeWork returned to the premises after its “surrender date.”
In October of last year, WeWork denied these allegations and stated that the landlord and its CEO Alex Sapir had a “long history of underhanded conduct and mismanagement of their real estate holdings.”
WeWork also claimed that Sapir illegally drew down a $767,795 letter of credit from Goldman Sachs before receiving proper authorization.
In the latest development, Neumann filed claims against Sapir using WeWork’s attorney, stating that he did indeed promise the lease, but that WeWork had vacated the space properly which voided this guarantee.
After Neumann stepped down from the company in 2019, WeWork cut back on its real estate footprint to mitigate the financial loss it has experienced. While making some improvements, the coworking firm is still attempting to remedy its reputation.
