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Termination of Purchase and Sale Agreement
9 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2020
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred [Abstract]  
Termination of Purchase and Sale Agreement

Note 6 – Termination of Purchase and Sale Agreement:

On January 14, 2020, FREIT and certain of its affiliates (collectively, the “Sellers”), entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement (as subsequently amended, the “Purchase and Sale Agreement”) with Sinatra Properties LLC (the “Purchaser”), which as subsequently amended, provided for the sale by the Sellers to the Purchaser of 100% of the Sellers’ ownership interests in six real properties held by the Sellers in exchange for the purchase price described therein, subject to the terms and conditions of the Purchase and Sale Agreement. On April 30, 2020, the Sellers delivered written notice to the Purchaser of the Sellers’ termination of the Purchase and Sale Agreement in accordance with its terms due to the occurrence of a “Purchaser Default” thereunder, based on the Purchaser’s failure to perform its obligations under the Purchase and Sale Agreement and close the transactions contemplated therein.

Upon the execution of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the Purchaser delivered into escrow a deposit in the amount of $15 million (the “Deposit”), in the form of an unconditional, irrevocable letter of credit in such amount (the “Letter of Credit”). The Purchase and Sale Agreement provides that the Sellers’ exclusive remedy, in the event of a “Purchaser Default” and the termination of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, is the forfeiture of the Deposit to the Sellers as liquidated damages. Accordingly, contemporaneously with the Sellers’ delivery of the termination notice to the Purchaser, the Sellers delivered written notice to the escrow agent requesting that the escrow agent release the Letter of Credit from escrow and deliver same to the Sellers.

On May 6, 2020, the Purchaser filed a complaint (the “Complaint”) against the Sellers in the Superior Court of New Jersey, in which, among other things, the Purchaser alleges breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing against the Sellers in connection with the Sellers’ termination of the Purchase and Sale Agreement. The Purchaser seeks (a) a judgment of specific performance compelling the Sellers to convey the properties under the Purchase and Sale Agreement to the Purchaser; (b) declaratory judgment from the court that (i) the Purchase and Sale Agreement is not terminated, (ii) the Purchaser is not in default under the Purchase and Sale Agreement, and (iii) the Sellers are in default under the Purchase and Sale Agreement, subject to a right to cure; (c) an order for injunctive relief compelling the Sellers to perform the Purchase and Sale Agreement; (d) in the event that the court does not order specific performance, a judgment directing that the Purchaser’s $15 million deposit under the Purchase and Sale Agreement be returned to the Purchaser, and compensatory, consequential and incidental damages in an amount to be determined at trial; and (e) attorneys’ fees and costs.

The Purchaser has filed lis pendens with respect to each of the six properties that were subject to the Purchase and Sale Agreement. The lis pendens provides notice to the public of the Complaint. The filing of the lis pendens will adversely affect the future sale or financing of those properties.


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On June 17, 2020, the Sellers filed their answer, separate defenses, and counterclaims (the “Answer”) in response to the Complaint, in which, among other things, the Sellers (a) deny the Purchaser’s claim that the Sellers’ termination of the Purchase and Sale Agreement was wrongful, and assert that there was no contractual basis in the Purchase and Sale Agreement to relieve the Purchaser from its obligation to perform thereunder, or to defer or postpone the Purchaser’s obligation to perform, (b) assert certain defenses to the allegations set forth in the Complaint without admitting any liability, and (c) request relief from the Court in the form of (i) judgment in the Sellers’ favor dismissing all of the Purchaser’s claims against them with prejudice and denying all of the Purchaser’s requests for relief, (ii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and (iii) such other and further relief as the Court deems just.

In addition, the Answer asserts counterclaims by the Sellers against the Purchaser for breach of contract due to the Purchaser’s failure to close the Purchase and Sale Agreement in accordance with its terms, and the Sellers seek a declaratory judgment from the Court that the Sellers properly terminated the Purchase and Sale Agreement in accordance with its terms due to the Purchaser’s default and an order from the Court that the Purchaser authorize the escrow agent to release the $15 million deposit under the Purchase and Sale Agreement to the Sellers.

In connection with these counterclaims, the Answer seeks the following relief from the Court: (a) liquidated damages in the amount of $15 million, as provided in the Purchase and Sale Agreement; (b) in the alternative to the liquidated damages provided for in the Purchase and Sale Agreement, money damages in an amount to be determined at trial; (c) interest, attorneys’ fees and costs associated with the defense of the Purchaser’s claims and the prosecution of the Sellers’ counterclaims against the Purchaser, as provided for in the Purchase and Sale Agreement; (d) judgment declaring that the Sellers properly terminated the Purchase and Sale Agreement due to the Purchaser’s default thereunder; (e) judgment declaring that the Purchaser must authorize the escrow agent to release the $15 million deposit to the Sellers; and (f) such other relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

The Sellers believe that the allegations set forth in the Complaint are without merit and intend to vigorously defend the action and enforce the Sellers’ rights and remedies under the Purchase and Sale Agreement in connection with the “Purchaser Default” thereunder, including the Purchaser’s forfeiture of its $15 million deposit to the Sellers as liquidated damages as provided in the Purchase and Sale Agreement. As of the quarter ended July 31, 2020, the $15 million deposit has not been included in income in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.

During the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, the Special Committee of the Board incurred on behalf of the Company approximately $4,606,000 and $1,018,000, respectively, of advisory, legal and other expenses related to its activities. During the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, the Special Committee of the Board incurred on behalf of the Company approximately $87,000 and $432,000, respectively, of advisory, legal and other expenses related to its activities. Legal costs attributed to the legal proceedings between FREIT and certain of its affiliates and Sinatra Properties, LLC have been incurred in the amount of approximately $601,000 for the nine and three months ended July 31, 2020.