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

A class action lawsuit seeking more than $5,000,000 has been filed against Vail Resorts, claiming it violated numerous California laws when it ended the 2019-2020 ski season early due to coronavirus.

The main plaintiff, Brian Hunt, a resident of California who purchased the annual Tahoe Local season pass for $499, filed the lawsuit “on behalf of all of Defendant’s customers nationwide that purchased annual passes for the 2019-2020 season to Epic Day Passes for the 2019-2020 season who, as of March 25, 2020, had not used up all of the days remaining.”

Hunt wants passholder fees refunded because he claims the pass, valid until June, lost value when the North American resorts closed for the season on March 17. “Plaintiff continues to face imminent harm, as the defendant retains annual passholder’s season pass fees while all of its resorts remain closed,” the lawsuit states.

According to news reports, among the allegations against Vail Resorts are a violation of California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act (which protects the customer from product misrepresentation), a violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law, a violation of California’s False Advertising Law, as well as a breach of express warranty, negligent misrepresentation, and fraud.

—Source: outtherecolorado.com

Amazon is being sued by consumers in California who claim the internet giant is price-gouging in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

A class action lawsuit filed by Hagens Bergman Sobol Shapiro LLP alleges Amazon should be liable for third-party and primary listings on its platform. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs compare average prices over a previous three month period to coronavirus-era prices starting in early February, claiming they have increased by more than 10%. The lawsuit cites pricing on face masks, cold remedies and black beans as evidence, ignoring evidence that supply and demand shift dramatically during disasters and pandemics and that Amazon does not set prices of its third-party vendors.

According to news reports, Amazon maintains that it continues to monitor prices and removes offers that violate its policies. “We are disappointed that bad actors are attempting to take advantage of this global health crisis and, in addition to removing these offers, we are terminating accounts and working directly with states attorneys general to prosecute bad actors and hold them accountable,” an Amazon representative said.

—Source: law.com

An Ohio woman is suing supermarket giant The Kroger Co. for injuries sustained when she fell in the parking lot.

Darla Gonzales claims she was pushing a loaded grocery cart in the parking lot when the front wheels dropped into a water-filled gap in the asphalt, causing the cart to flip over its front wheels and Gonzales to land on the cart, injuring her back, shoulder and wrist. The lawsuit charges that there were no signs to give warning to Gonzales of the approaching hazard, and the hazard was not open and obvious.

According to news reports, there had been a significant amount of rain that day.

—Source: advertiser-tribune.com