Actor Chris Pine is suing a townhouse developer after negotiations for the short-term rental of one among his Cobble Hill initiatives fell aside.
The lawsuit, which Pine filed in a New York court docket on Monday, accuses Eckstrom Development’s Carlos Saavedra of failing to return $100,000 in charges that the Star Trek star claims he paid whereas the 2 had been negotiating a seven-week lease for the property at 487 Henry Road.
Pine started discussing the potential lease with Saavedra in June, with the purpose of taking on the furnished property on the morning of July fifth, in keeping with the criticism. As the 2 went forwards and backwards over the phrases, Pine alleges that he obtained directions from Saavedra to wire $50,000 as a safety deposit and $50,000 for the primary month’s lease.
Within the lawsuit, Pine states he despatched Saavedra the cash, together with a $25,000 pet deposit — an allegedly unlawful payment, which Pine claims Saavedra later returned. Nonetheless, the developer didn’t return Pine’s safety deposit or first month’s lease examine even after the rental deal collapsed.
“Proprietor has supplied no contract, no consideration, and no cause of any form for conserving the cash, as a result of there may be none,” the criticism states. “Missing any cognizable justification for its retention by Proprietor, this Court docket ought to compel the funds’ return to Pine.”
In an announcement, an lawyer representing Saavedra, Russell Wolfsan, referred to the claims as a “non-public contractual matter” and stated the lawsuit “tells just one facet and doesn’t replicate the whole story.”
“Mr. Saavedra is assured it will likely be resolved by the suitable channels,” he added.
The lawsuit, which additionally names the Brooklyn townhouse’s possession entity, 487 Henry LLC, as a defendant, seeks the return of the $100,000, in addition to damages and lawyer charges.
Eric Sherman, an lawyer representing Pine, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Saavedra and his spouse, Nicole Eckstrom, based Eckstrom Improvement eight years in the past. Whereas the couple launched their improvement careers by changing condos, they later shifted their focus to turning multifamily properties in a few of Brooklyn’s most fascinating neighborhoods into single-family townhouses.
Since then, lots of the duo’s flips have snagged dear offers, together with one at 170 Clinton Road in Brooklyn Heights, which closed for $14 million earlier this 12 months. Across the similar time, the couple introduced they had been expanding their footprint to Manhattan, beginning with properties in Greenwich Village and the West Village.
The builders purchased the property on the middle of the lawsuit for $4.65 million in 2024 and put up for sale in April with a $14.3 million asking value. In addition they listed the house for lease in June with a $69,500 month-to-month price.
The house has 5 bedrooms and 4 bogs unfold throughout 5 tales and practically 6,300 sq. ft. It contains 2,000 sq. ft of out of doors house, together with a backyard and rooftop terrace. It additionally encompasses a fitness center with a sauna and chilly plunge, in addition to two outside kitchens.
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