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Just because a Golden Triangle developer and his former executive vice president are suing each other doesn't mean they can't still do business together.
In a complex transaction completed April 27, George Lattimer became the owner of the building where his former boss, Harry L. Summers, bases his development company, Harry L. Summers Inc. The deal comes about a year after Lattimer, formerly Summers' executive vice president, sued his former boss for wrongful termination.
Before completing the deal with Lattimer and a third party, Summers had an 85 percent interest in La Jolla Eastgate, a 41,180-square-foot building at 9404 Genesee Ave. Using a neutral middleman, Frank M. Goldberg, Summers indirectly sold his share of La Jolla Eastgate.
Specifically, Lattimer pledged his 15 percent equity in La Jolla Eastgate and a series of lots as security for a $3.3 million loan from Goldberg needed to purchase Summers' 85 percent interest in the properties.
The purchase almost fell through at the last minute when Summers and Lattimer couldn't agree on the building value. Summers filed a lawsuit April 21 alleging that Lattimer wouldn't recognize an April 1988 offer of $9.1 million from La Jolla Radiology for La Jolla Eastgate as establishing the value of the building. Their partnership agreement for the building --Summers owned 85 percent, Lattimer owned 15 percent-stipulated that both parties had to agree to a sale or the partnership would be dissolved by one party buying the other party's interest.
After the La Jolla Radiology offer was withdrawn, Summers wanted to set the value of the building at $9.1 million, but Lattimer ordered an appraisal, which set the value at $8.95 million, the price he offered Summers for the building, according to a suit dropped soon after...