Co-op board turndowns are as common as monocles on Fifth Avenue, but here's one with a twist: at 812 Fifth Avenue, the board turndown has led to two years of legal wrangling over whether the prospective buyer deliberately sabotaged her board interview. As the Times tells it, Turkish businesswoman Demet Sabanci Cetindogan has been fighting to get her deposit back on a $3 million apartment (above), after the seller alleged Cetindogan did badly in the interview because she wanted to get out of the deal. The seller's evidence? E-mails showing Cetindogan was upset that the building wouldn't let her daughter stay in the apartment on her own.
Perhaps it's not surprising that a State Supreme Court judge ruled last week that the seller's side hasn't effectively proven his case. He now owes Cetindogan her $300,000 deposit back with interest. But he's probably still doing okay, since he found other buyers for the apartment more a year ago at the same price. So we're left with just one question: how does one deliberately sabotage a co-op board interview, anyway?
· A Fifth Avenue Co-op Says No: Did It Take Subterfuge? [City Room]
· 812 Fifth Avenue #4B [StreetEasy]
· 812 Fifth Avenue coverage [Curbed]
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