595 Baltic Asset LLC

You received a Notice, pursuant to Rule 904 of the New York Civil Practice Law, because records indicate that you may be a member of a Plaintiff Class in a lawsuit against the owner and manager of the building located at 595 Baltic Asset LLC (“Defendant”), which is currently pending in the New York Supreme Court, New York County.

Plaintiffs here assert that Defendant received 421-a tax benefits at the Building. Under New York State law, these benefits were only available if all the apartments at the Building were subject to the rent-stabilization laws. The 421-a Program requires that the first rents for apartments participating in that program are to be set utilizing the amounts the unit’s first occupant was “charged and paid.” Plaintiffs assert that Defendant violated the law by failing to take into account rent concessions, received by the initial tenants at the Building, when registering the first rents for the units. Additionally, Plaintiffs assert that Defendant utilized concessions on subsequent tenancies, which were not taken into account when setting preferential rents at the Building. Plaintiffs assert that, as a result, tenants at the Building were charged more than the maximum legal rent for their apartments and/or were denied the other benefits of rent stabilization, such as mandatory lease renewals at amounts allowed under New York State law.

A class action is a lawsuit where one or more persons sue not only on their own behalf but also on behalf of other people who have similar claims. These other people are known as Class Members. In a class action, one court resolves the issues for all Class Members.

On December 12, 2023, the Court certified the lawsuit to proceed as a class action on behalf of all current and former tenants of 90 Washington Street, who occupied their apartment at any time after June 14, 2015, and prior to June 30, 2018” (the “Class”).

Further, the Court certified a subclass of all current residential tenants of the Building seeking injunctive relief.

The Court named Plaintiffs Jeremiah Hardy, Eric Schlabs, and James Nugent as Lead Plaintiffs for the Class.

The Court named the law firm of Newman Ferrara LLP as counsel for the Class. Newman Ferrara LLP attorneys will represent you, as part of the Class, unless you request to be excluded as described in FAQ 6, in which case you will have the opportunity to hire your own attorney at your own expense.

A Notice was sent to you in the belief that you may be a Class Member whose rights might be affected by this lawsuit. It should not be understood to be an expression of any opinion by the Court concerning the merits of the claims and defenses in this action. The Notice is merely to advise you of the pendency of the action and your rights with respect thereto.

As described in FAQ 6 below, Class Members have the opportunity to exclude themselves from the damages aspect of the Class by filing an opt out form with the Court. Apart from this opportunity to opt-out, Class Members will be bound by the Court’s determination of the Class’s claims.

Plaintiffs seek to recover alleged rent overcharges from Defendant for both themselves and the class. Plaintiffs also seek to have the Court determine the correct legal regulated rents for the apartments at the Building. Plaintiffs also seek an order that any Class Member residing in an apartment at the Building be offered proper lease renewals at regulated rents established as required by the rent stabilization laws.

Plaintiffs are not seeking on behalf of themselves, or the members of the Class, the treble damages penalty provided for in the rent stabilization laws and regulations for willful rent overcharges. In seeking Class certification, Plaintiffs have agreed to waive that penalty on behalf of themselves and the Class, are requesting only injunctive relief and compensatory damages for the actual amounts of the overcharges, plus interest. If you are a Class Member, and wish to pursue the statutory penalty, you may do so. However, to ensure your ability to pursue treble damages, you must exclude yourself from the Class and commence your own action pursuant to the procedures described in FAQ 6. You should note that any claims that you may be able to pursue individually are governed by a statute of limitations.

If you wish to be excluded from the Class, you must fill out the Exclusion Request Form provided with the Notice or available here. The Exclusion Request Form should be mailed via First-Class Mail postmarked on or before March 4, 2025 to the following address:

595 Baltic Asset LLC
Class Action Administration
P.O. Box 2894
Portland, OR 97208-2894

If you do not request exclusion from the Class, or if your letter of exclusion is not postmarked on or before March 4, 2025, and the Court determines that you are a Class Member, you will be included in the Class and bound by any judgment ordered by the Court. In the event such judgment results from a settlement by the parties, you will have the right to object to the terms of the settlement, to participate in the settlement, or to exclude yourself from the settlement. If the case proceeds to judgment absent a settlement and you are a Class Member, you will be bound by the judgment without any further opportunity to exclude yourself or to object.

If you exclude yourself, you will not be bound by the Court’s determination of the Class’s claims—whether positive or negative to the Class—and you will remain free to pursue your own claim for damages independently.

You can obtain more information by contacting Class Counsel (Newman Ferrara LLP) by calling (212) 619-5400 or emailing Roger Sachar at rsachar@nfllp.com.

All communications and discussions with Newman Ferrara LLP, other than requests to opt out of the lawsuit, are confidential and will not be disclosed without your consent.

Please do not contact the Court with questions involving this lawsuit.

Additional information about the lawsuit is available by calling 1-888-884-2386.