NEW YORK, June 30, 2025 –Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., one of New York City’s pre-eminent real estate law firms, announced that the firm has secured a dismissal with prejudice of a lawsuit brought by the owners of a condominium unit at 685 First Avenue alleging the floor-to-ceiling windows in their apartment exposed them to harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Judge James d’Auguste of New York State Supreme Court dismissed the suit as meritless, ruling that the purchase contract the couple signed when they bought the luxury apartment overlooking Manhattan’s East River clearly stated that they were not relying on any “plans, brochures representations or statements” from the developer. What’s more, “This precludes claims relating to purported misrepresentations based upon the absence of UV protections on windows,” wrote Judge d’Auguste.
Rosenberg & Estis Members Norman Flitt and Alex M. Estis represented the property’s developer, Soloviev Group, along with owner Stefan Soloviev, CEO Michael Hershman and all defendants in the suit filed by husband and wife Jennifer Yen and Jeffrey P. Worley seeking $10 million in damages.
The Judge not only found the claims against the defendants to be meritless, he chided the plaintiffs for their efforts to recast their claims as torts and blame Soloviev and Hershman of negligence that caused them emotional distress. He wrote, “Plaintiffs have failed to articulate a potential non-conclusory basis for liability by the individual defendants.”
The judge also wrote that “the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim is legally insufficient because plaintiffs have failed to clearly allege misconduct that is ‘so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.’”
Said Flitt, “This was an entirely meritless lawsuit brought for the apparent purpose of tarnishing our client’s reputation. Soloviev Group is a world-renowned developer known for delivering the highest quality projects across the United States. The Court rightly dismissed these claims with prejudice, recognizing that they were wholly without factual or legal basis.”
Yen and Worley caused a media splash last summer when they filed a 26-page complaint filled with multiple allegations against Soloviev, including that they deliberately misled the couple about UV protections in the striking 42-story black glass Murray Hill residential tower designed by Richard Meier & Partners Architects and developed by the Soloviev Group in 2019.
Yen wrote a blog post lamenting discoloration and fading of the carpets, artwork and furnishings in their $6.4 million home that they said were caused by UV radiation. She also claimed she found “suspicious lesions” on the side of her face that was most exposed to the glass wall window in her home office.
Said Estis, “The plaintiffs tried to get around the contract they had agreed to by filing negligence claims instead, but we are pleased the judge saw through this gambit. We appreciate the Court’s clear recognition that our clients did nothing wrong, and we are gratified that this baseless lawsuit has been fully rejected.”
About Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.
Founded in 1975, Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. is widely recognized as one of New York City’s pre-eminent real estate law firms. R&E provides full-service representation and advice in every aspect of real estate, from performing due diligence and evaluating financing, to handling joint ventures, acquisitions and leasing, construction and design team agreements, property tax exemptions and abatements, land use and zoning matters, Real Property Income & Expense (RPIE) filings, real estate tax certiorari, co-op and condo offering plan filings and board representation, distressed situations workouts, foreclosures and bankruptcies, trust and estate planning, as well as the litigations and negotiations which sometimes ensue when deal-making. R&E’s wealth of experience in New York real estate makes it the ideal thought partner for owners, developers, not-for-profit corporations, educational institutions, sponsors, equity investors and lenders in both real estate transactions and in all court venues.