Skadden Wins Landmark Case for Apartment Complex Owner

On Aug. 23, the Supreme Court of New York granted Skadden's motion to dismiss a putative class action that will have an enormous impact on the owners of rental properties in New York City. The firm represented the partnership between Tishman Speyer, one of the leading owners, developers and operators of real estate in the world, and BlackRock that purchased Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village, New York City’s largest apartment complex, for more than $5 billion at the end of 2006. In the closely watched case, the plaintiffs, current and former tenants of the apartment complex, contended that the property owner could not raise rents to market value while receiving certain tax benefits from the city.