Real-estate and art-world magnate Aby Rosen and his fellow managing partner at RFR Holdings, Michael Fuchs, are locked in a legal battle with Harry Lis, their business partner of nearly 20 years, The Post has learned.
In a lawsuit filed in February, Rosen and Fuchs accuse Lis of refusing to provide cash to prop up struggling properties during the 2009 crash — yet insisting on collecting payouts from deals like the $28.9 million sale of 451 Lexington Ave. last November.
Rosen and Fuchs say the group had agreed to treat its portfolio as a single entity so that when a building made money, they’d use it to shore up some of their less stable properties.
Lis and his attorneys declined comment, but his wife, Melissa, said Rosen and Fuchs owe their success in New York real estate to her husband’s capital and mentoring.
“Aby really needs to stop,” she said, adding that her husband is now planning to sue his estranged partners.
Editor’s Note
According to lawyers for Harry Lis, the lawsuit brought by Rosen and Fuchs was not the first legal volley in this matter. Lis has twice sued Rosen and Fuchs to obtain the proceeds from the sale of buildings that his partners were improperly withholding. Lis successfully sued Rosen and Fuchs for millions of dollars over the sale of the building at 451 Lexington Avenue and his suit against them concerning the proceeds of the sale of the building at 400 Park is ongoing.