The Strange Saga of Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo v. Watchtower of New York
Information compiled by Barbara Anderson
On February 27, 2009, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (“Watchtower”) purchased 248 acres of land located in Ramapo, New York, from a company named Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo I, LLC (“Lorterdan”). Things slowly went sour and twenty-seven months later, Lorterdan served a lawsuit against Watchtower asking the court for five determinations:
1) Declaratory Judgment (asking court to interpret the contractual rights)
2) Breach of Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
3) Breach of Contract
4) Specific Performance/Preliminary Injunction/Permanent Injunction, and
5) Breach of Contract for (Watchtower’s) Failure to pay Plaintiff the Sum of $9.5 Million upon determining it would proceed with the Development
Likewise, Watchtower is countersuing Lorterdan for Declaratory Judgment, Breach of Contract, Fraudulent Inducement, and Specific Performance.
As of today, this court case is still on-going. The information in this review was taken from court documents filed by both parties and from newspapers.
The parties in this lawsuit are: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. (One of many corporate bodies acting in behalf of the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses), and Lorterdan Properties at Ramapo I, LLC. (A closely held company, whose owners are listed as Robert Jackson, Foun Chong Fan, MD, the Fan Family Trust, and Scott Blow.)
The Preliminary Statement by Lorterdan is telling: “On its website, Watchtower promotes the virtues of honesty, forgiveness, and altruism as those amongst its very foundation. In particular, (Watchtower’s) website declares that ‘being considered trustworthy is something to be proud of.’” Lorterdan accuses the Watchtower of a “tremendous breach of trust.”
What conspired between the parties? What was the deal?