Trump Sues Lenders for Chicago Tower

Construction continues amid financial impasse
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2008 8:03 AM CST
Trump Sues Lenders for Chicago Tower
Real estate developer Donald Trump, right, talks as his son, Donald Jr., gives an interview during topping off festivities for his Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, Sept. 24, 2008.   (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Donald Trump is suing lenders for a $640 million loan extension on his mostly completed Trump Tower in Chicago, after sales of condos have fallen short, the Wall Street Journal reports. Trump is angling to apply a force majeure provision—normally triggered by acts of war or natural disasters—in the agreement with a group led by Deutsche Bank, citing the “unprecedented financial crisis in the credit markets now prevailing, in part due to acts Deutsche Bank itself participated in."

The real-estate magnate, who stands to lose $77 million of his own money in a foreclosure, is also looking for $3 billion in damages. The suit says that Deutsche Bank, the original lender, sold off its loan to so many different companies— “virtually anybody that seemed to come along”—that it’s impossible to reach an agreement going forward. Meanwhile, construction on what will be the second-tallest building in the US will continue.  (More Donald Trump stories.)

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