MIAMI – A New York-based real estate investment and development firm has sued a Florida property owner for alleged defamation and libel.
KAR Properties Inc. and its CEO, Shahab Karmely, filed their lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida June 6. The named defendant is Karl Duesterberg.
According to the civil complaint, Duesterberg owns a condominium and is a resident of Ivy at Riverfront, which KAR’s Ivy Condominium Association Inc., or ICA, manages.
KAR has been involved with several iconic real estate developments in New York City and South Florida, including 232 Madison and Faena Residences Miami.
KAR and Karmely allege Duesterberg knowingly published the following false statement in a public April 18 social media post:
“Kar Properties (the CO developer with faena) has been disenfranchising the Riverfront Master Association through illegal actions for years,” Duesterberg wrote in the post, according to the eight-page complaint.
Duesterberg, on his “Karlstellation” social media account, also allegedly wrote, “The master association [RMA] has even been sued and had to settle, and yet he [Karmely] continues to not follow what was agreed upon in the settlement agreement.”
The complaint does not specifically say which social media platform Duesterberg posted his comments.
According to the complaint, KAR holds a beneficial ownership interest in Parcel 4 of real property located on the Miami River. The area is known as Riverfront.
The parcel is one of six at Riverfront. A conglomeration of associations manage Riverfront, including the Riverfront Management Association Inc., or RMA; the Wind Condominium Association Inc., or WCA; the Mint Condominium Association Inc., or MCA; and ICA.
“Over the course of time, certain disputes between KAR, as owner of the Property, and the Associations occurred, which resulted in litigation that the parties settled amicably and memorialized in an agreement dated September 29, 2016,” the complaint states.
The plaintiffs contend Duesterberg falsely claimed they engaged in settlement agreement violations in connection with the Miami-based real estate project.
“KAR and Karmely have not engaged in any illegal actions in relation to RMA or any of the other Associations at any point in time. KAR and Karmely have abided by, and have not breached, the Associations’ Settlement Agreement at any point in time,” the complaint states.
They added, “At no point in time has RMA or any of the other Associations alleged that KAR or Karmely have breached the Associations’ Settlement Agreement.”
The plaintiffs allege Duesterberg’s statements are part of a smear campaign initiated by him against them and their Riverfront project.
“Upon information and belief, Duesterberg has proposed and encouraged residents of the Condos to organize a protest against KAR and Karmely’s project at Riverfront,” they wrote in the complaint.
According to the filing, KAR sent Duesterberg a cease-and-desist letter April 24. They demanded he provide written confirmation of his “retraction and correction” within 10 days of the letter, but as of this month’s filing it had not been received.
The plaintiffs contend Duesterberg’s statements and “ongoing wrongful actions” have caused significant harm to their reputation and business. In turn, they are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including pre-judgment and post-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees and costs.
Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP, based in Miami, is representing KAR and Karmely.
