Washington Couple Sues Local Restaurateur and Real Estate Agent for Fraud

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 /PRNewsire/ -- DC Restaurateur David Winer, founder of EatWell DC, which operates five restaurants in the metro area (Logan Tavern, Commissary, The Pig, The Heights, and Grillfish), faces allegations of fraud in connection with the $1.26 million sale of his Logan Circle condominium last year.  The new lawsuit, filed by the Washington office of Clinton Brook & Peed, accuses Winer and his real estate agent of concealing their insider knowledge of new construction that they knew would reduce the luxury condo's value by up to $350,000. 

According to the lawsuit, Sundberg et al. v. TTR Realty, LLC et al., Case No. 2013CA004366B, filed in D.C. Superior Court earlier today, Winer decided to sell his condo when he learned through his position as a condominium board member that a neighboring commercial building planned to add a third floor that would cut off his luxury condo's natural light and render it nearly unusable throughout nearly a year of construction.  The complaint cites an email from the condo board warning the owners of units like Winer's that these units "may well be impacted by [the] potential developments" next door, and a private meeting in which the owners of the neighboring building disclosed their architectural plans to Winer.

Shortly afterwards, according to the lawsuit, Winer recruited real estate agent Mansour Abu-Rahmeh of TTR Sotheby's International Realty (whose office is next door), to help him sell the condo without tipping off the buyers about the impending construction that inspired the sale.

The lawsuit seeks over $1 million in damages and attorneys' fees and costs, citing the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which provides automatic treble damages, and other causes of action. 

"My clients went above and beyond to find out everything conceivably relevant to the purchase of what they thought would be their dream home," says the couple's attorney Tim Clinton.  "Winer and Abu-Rahmeh knew that the truth would either prevent a sale or cut into their profits, so these two prominent Washington figures chose to conceal what they knew instead.  Fortunately, the law provides a strong remedy to compensate innocent victims and prevent this kind of thing from happening again." 

For further information, contact:
Tim Clinton
Clinton Brook & Peed
www.ClintonBrook.com
[email protected]
(202) 621-1828

SOURCE Clinton Brook & Peed