UES Condo Lawsuit Alleges Jeff Simpson LLCs Owe $240K

Owners at an Upper East Side condo are taking entities tied to embattled developer Jeffrey Simpson to task in a new lawsuit, alleging unpaid common charges and a gridlocked condo board.

Condo owners and the management company at 1055 Park Avenue are suing three LLCs, either currently or once tied to Simpson, that own four of the building’s six units, alleging they owe nearly $240,000 in monthly fees.

The complaint, filed in New York County last week and updated on Wednesday, further alleges that owners of the other two condos have been unable to take action to collect the outstanding charges due to Simpson’s control over the board, including serving as its president. His wife and another relative are among its other members, according to the documents.

“Because of these familial relationships, the Board’s members have a personal interest in shielding themselves and their affiliates from payment of the Common Charges and are, therefore, conflicted and unable to exercise sound business judgment with respect to this action,” the complaint states.

In the lawsuit, Irvine Realty Group, the management firm, and the other owners, referred to in the complaint as 1055 Park Avenue Condominium, are requesting that the judge grant them the authority to move forward with the case without the condo board’s approval, given Simpson’s involvement.

An attorney representing Irvine and the other owners did not respond to a request for comment.

Simpson said the lawsuit was an attempt to “weaponize the board without the authority of the board.” He added that as the board’s president, he reduced the building’s overall monthly common charges by roughly $200,000, renovated its lobby and implemented other improvements that allowed himself and the other owners to fetch higher rents from tenants.

“I used my resources and my abilities to turn that building around,” Simpson said. “People quickly forget the good things you do for them.”

Simpson, through LLCs, bought four units at Trevor Davis’ 19-foot-wide, all-glass condominium in 2021 for a combined total of roughly $7 million. The purchase included the building’s penthouse, Unit 1, Unit 4 and Unit Suite.

But in 2024, Simpson — also in the midst of a contentious court battle with his former development partner — defaulted on loans secured by his ownership stakes in the penthouse and Unit 1. Another LLC, New York 555, acquired the loans from the lender, Maxim Credit Group, and in January, transferred the ownership of the apartments to a new entity, according to public records.

Simpson appears to have maintained his ownership stake in the other two units through two LLCs named as defendants in the lawsuit. It also names the entity that took over Simpson’s ownership in the penthouse and Unit 1, as the complaint alleges the condo’s bylaws hold new owners liable for the unpaid common charges of their predecessors, which in this case total roughly $149,000. The other entities owe roughly $81,000 for Unit 4 and $8,600 for Unit Suite.

Simpson said he hasn’t paid the common charges associated with the apartment he lives in with his wife and children due to an ongoing personal bankruptcy case, which he voluntarily initiated in February. A bankruptcy judge ruled in August that the automatic stay associated with Simpson’s Chapter 11 filing does not apply to the entities that own or owned the 1055 Park Avenue condos.

As for the other two apartments, Simpson said he’s repeatedly asked the officers of New York 555 to pay the outstanding common charges, but they have yet to do so. He added that the previous tenant of the penthouse left after the entity took over the loans, and that a prospective renter for Unit 1 backed out. He claims neither unit has since been rented.

“I can’t pay for four apartments,” Simpson said. “I can’t lease them. I have a lender pretending to own them and who did these faulty foreclosures, but the court hasn’t done anything.”

Simpson and his then-business partner, Jared Chassen, founded Arch Companies in 2017 and later grew the company’s portfolio to include $1 billion in assets. But the firm’s rise hit a snag in 2022, as rising interest rates slowed the development pipeline and costly lawsuits sowed doubt among its investors. The relationship between Simpson and Chassen imploded, landing them both in a years-long court battle over control of the company.