A couple from England who are part of the British aristocracy sued to get their deposit back on a $5.5 million Park Avenue co-op purchase deal gone south.

According to news reports, Lady Eva-Marie Houstoun-Boswall and Sir Alford Houstoun-Boswall, who own houses in London, France, the Bahamas, and New York City, put a $535,000 deposit down on a unit in New York City at 730 Park Avenue, near the preschool at which they intended to enroll their 2-year-old son. Following an interview with the coop board, which was conducted via Zoom due to international travel restrictions, they were informed that moving in during a pandemic would be difficult and would have to take place all at once. The board approved the sale in early April.

After back and forth between the buyers and seller’s attorneys regarding moving in, the buyers allege they received nothing more than “bland replies” about the seller wanting to close. The correspondence ended with the seller’s attorney sending a “time is of the essence” notice in early May, indicating closing needed to happen by June 10 or buyers would be deemed in default and lose their deposit. According to the lawsuit, this notice occurred despite the coop board’s ban on any move in or move outs as of April 30.

The Houstoun-Boswalls now claim they no longer want the apartment, especially given that they have since enrolled their son at a preschool in London.

Despite filing the lawsuit, Morrell Berkowitz, who is representing the Houstoun-Boswalls in the lawsuit, said he had reached an agreement with the defendants’ attorney to keep the couple’s deposit in escrow for now.

“At least at this stage, we probably do not have to have the court intervene with a decision one way or the other,” he said.

—Source: therealdeal.com