Sorry, but only John McClane can stop him now.
Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times/Redux
Today, lawyers for El-Ad Properties sent us a lawsuit they just filed in New York Supreme Court against Russian financier Andrei Vavilov, accusing him of defamation. Vavilov notably sued El-Ad last week over a $53.5 million penthouse he had partially paid for, which he deemed was not up to promised standards of space and luxury. (Somewhat undermining El-Ad's claim that everything was delivered as promised, yesterday a second penthouse buyer sued the developers over similar complaints.)
El-Ad alleges that Vavilov is merely trying to get out of paying out the rest of his contractually obligated payments for the apartment. The legal papers call his suit "a sham" and "improper and abusive." That's some tough talk for people who don't know how to do a proper window treatment!
Quite frankly, this lawsuit makes us love Vavilov even more, despite the fact that we don't know that much about him. Some highlights:
• "At the time Defendants entered into the aforesaid purchase contracts, Vavilov stated in no uncertain terms that he wished to own the largest and most expensive apartment at the Plaza."
• Vavilov allegedly didn't complain about the two conjoined apartments until he came to visit with his seemingly awesome actress wife Maryana Tsaregradskaya, who said "in substance that they were simply not large enough for her tastes."
• "Also during this visit, Ms. Tsaregradskaya stated to the El-Ad employees that she wanted to have the biggest apartment in the Plaza."
• "The defamatory statements set forth herein were motivated by Defendants' actual malice, ill will, [or] personal spite."
Hmmm. An enormously wealthy, perhaps adorably petty, Russian billionaire with a pretentious young actress wife who will stop at nothing to get what they want? It's like the beginning of every single action movie that came out in the eighties!
Earlier: Russian Financier Andrei Vavilov Sues Plaza Over Tiny Windows, Ugly Air Conditioners
Buyers Flipping Out Over Plaza Conditions
