Note 16 – Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may be involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.

AmBase Corporation: On June 28, 2018, AmBase Corporation, 111 West 57th Street Manager Funding LLC and 111 West 57th Investment LLC (together, "Plaintiffs") commenced a now-dismissed action captioned AmBase Corporation et al v. ACREFI Mortgage Lending, LLC et al (No 653251/2018) in New York Supreme Court (the "Apollo Action"), Plaintiffs amended the complaint in 2021. The complaint named as defendants (i) a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the "Subsidiary"), (ii) the Company, and (iii) certain funds managed by Apollo, who were co-lenders on a mezzanine loan against the development of a residential condominium building in Manhattan, NY. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants tortiously interfered with the Plaintiffs' joint venture agreement with the developers of the project, and that the defendants aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duty by the developers of the project. The Plaintiffs alleged the loss of a $70.0 million investment plus punitive damages. The defendants' motion to dismiss was granted on October 23, 2019 and the Court entered judgment dismissing the complaint in its entirety on November 8, 2019. Plaintiffs appealed, the parties fully briefed the appeal, and then Plaintiffs dropped the appeal, and the case remains dismissed.

In a separate action that pre-existed the Apollo Action, captioned 111 West 57th Investment LLC v. 111W57 Mezz Investor LLC (No. 655031/2017) also in New York Supreme Court (the "April 2021 Action"), Plaintiffs amended the complaint in 2021 to name Apollo Global Management, Inc., the Subsidiary, the Company, and certain funds managed by Apollo as defendants. The April 2021 Action concerns overlapping claims and the same condominium development project that the Apollo Action concerned. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted in part and denied in part on December 15, 2022. The Court dismissed the claim against Apollo Global Management, Inc. and the Company. Apollo appealed the decision with respect to the remaining claim. On October 5, 2023, the Appellate Division, First Department granted Apollo's appeal, thereby dismissing the remaining claim against the Apollo entities who were co-lenders on the mezzanine loan, including the Subsidiary. Plaintiffs filed a motion for leave with the Court of Appeals on November 3, 2023 which the Court denied on April 23, 2024. On July 12, 2024, Plaintiffs filed new motions for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals. On February 18, 2025, the Court of Appeals granted Plaintiffs' motion for leave to appeal and briefing was completed and argument was heard on April 14, 2026. On May 26, 2026, the Court of Appeals modified the Appellate Division dismissal to the extent of reinstating a single claim against the Subsidiary and certain funds managed by Apollo for breach of an implied covenant in the operative pledge agreement. The Court of Appeals has remitted the case to the trial court for further proceedings on that cause of action. No reasonable estimate of possible loss, if any, can be made at this time. The Company believes the claim is without merit.