Case File
efta-efta01077895DOJ Data Set 9OtherBRUCE S. KAPLAN
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DOJ Data Set 9
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efta-efta01077895
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BRUCE S. KAPLAN
EDWARD A. FRIEDMAN
GARY D. FRIEDMAN
Sant
A. AOELMAN
ERIC SEILER
ROBERT O. KAPLAN
ANDREW W. GOLDWATER
ROBERT J. LACK
GREGO S. LERNER
RICHARD M. ROFFMAN
SCOTT N.
ERIC CORNGOLD
HAL NEIER
PHILIPPE ADLER
LANCE J. GOTKO
KATHERINE L. PRINGLE
MERYL S. ROSENBLATT
DANIEL B. RAPPORT
DAVID I. TANENBAUM
HALLIE B. LEVIN
ANNE E. BEAUMONT
MARY E. MULLIGAN
EMILY A. STUBBS
KENT K. ANKER
AMY C. BROWN
RICARDO SOLANO JR.
JOHN N. ORSINI
WANG
JEFFREY C. FOURMAUX
JASON C. RUSINSTEIN
MICHAEL A. GORDON
BY FEDEX
FRIEDMAN KAPLAN SEILER & ADELMAN LLP
7 TIMES SOUARE
NORMAN ALPERT
ASAF REINDEL
NEW YORK. NY 10036-6516
COUNIICL
TELEPHONE
FACSIMILE
WWW.FKLAW.COM
B.R. Guest Parent Holdings, LLC
clo Starwood Capital Group Global, L.L.C.
ATTN: Jeffrey Dishner
591 West Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
Re: Stephen P. Hanson
Gentlemen:
November 1, 2013
ROBERT S. LARDY
STEVEN C. FRANKEL
L. REID SKISELL
OANICL R. ORCENSCRO
TIMOTHY M. HAGGERTY
CHRISTOPHER M. COLORADO
CHRISTOPHER L. MCCALL
YITZCHAK C. SOLOVEICINK
•CARLINt M. HONG
ERIC J. FINK CCCCC IN
JENNIFER A. MUSICS
EMILY L. CHANG
ANDREW M. CHOLANOCR
CHARLES E. ENLOE
ALEXANDER D. LEVI
ELIZABETH S. LOSE',
SARAH F. FOLLY
JAMUNA D.
RAINA L. NORTICK
MICHAEL S. PALMIERI
TANVIR VAHORA
NORA BOJAR
ANDREW C. KOSTIC
We represent Stephen P. Hanson. We write in response to B.R. Guest
Parent Holdings, LLC's ("BRG" or the "Company") letter to Mr. Hanson of October 30,
2013 (the "Termination Notice"), in which BRG purported to terminate Mr. Hanson's
employment for Cause under section 7 of the Employment Agreement, and based on that
decision, further (i) advised Mr. Hanson that he would not be permitted further access to
the Company's offices or other property, (ii) instructed him to comply with all post-
employment restrictive covenants and other restrictions set forth in the Employment
Agreement and LLC Agreement, and (iii) stated that all BRG Representatives were
automatically removed from their positions. Capitalized terms used herein but not
defined shall have the meaning given to such terms in the Termination Notice, the
Employment Agreement, or the LLC Agreement.
Although BRG claims to recite the findings of a "recent audit of the
Company's financial books and records" in justifying its assertion that Mr. Hanson
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B.R. Guest Parent Holdings, LLC
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November I, 2013
engaged in acts that satisfy the Employment Agreement's definition of "Cause," the
Company's decision to terminate Mr. Hanson for Cause, as well as the related decisions
set forth in the Termination Notice, lacks any legal or factual merit, and represents a clear
breach of the Employment Agreement. As reflected by Justice Sherwood's decision
yesterday, in SOF U.S. Restaurant Co-Invest Holdings, L.L.C. ["Starwood"] v. Stephen P.
Hanson, Index. No. 160004/2013 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County), to deny Starwood's application
for a temporary restraining order, Starwood and the Company have not shown, and are
unlikely to show, that Mr. Hanson committed any acts that satisfy subparts (A), (B), or
(D) of the "Cause" definition.
We further note that, even supposing (i) Mr. Hanson did engage in the
course of conduct depicted in the Termination Notice (he did not), and (ii) BRG provided
timely notice of the "particular acts . . . that constitute the grounds on which the proposed
termination for Cause is based" (it did not), section 7(b) of the Employment Agreement
expressly provides Mr. Hanson 30 days in which to "cure such conduct, to the extent
such cure is possible." All of the acts BRG cites as the basis for its Cause determination
concern allegedly inappropriate disbursements or expenditures, and can be readily cured
by Mr. Hanson's reimbursing the Company for the amounts in question. The Company's
decision to terminate Mr. Hanson's employment for Cause, without providing him an
opportunity to cure, breached the plain terms of the Employment Agreement.
Further, because Starwood lacks any authority under the LLC Agreement
to terminate Mr. Hanson without Cause, the Termination Notice is a legal nullity. We
therefore demand that (i) the Company withdraw its Termination Notice with prejudice
and immediately reinstate Mr. Hanson as Chief Executive Officer and President, and
(ii) Starwood withdraw its Notice of BRG Trigger Event, dated October 30, 2013, with
prejudice and reinstate the BRG Representatives to the Management Committee.
In addition, although Mr. Hanson vigorously disputes the Company's
accusations, he is ready, willing, and able to cure the misconduct alleged in the
Termination Notice. Accordingly, we request that you promptly provide us with an
itemized list detailing all disbursements and expenditures that BRG believes Mr. Hanson
to have made in breach of section 7 or any other provisions of the Employment
Agreement, along with appropriate wire transfer instructions.
Mr. Hanson reserves all of his rights and remedies with respect to the
matters addressed herein and all other matters, including, without limitation, his rights
and remedies under the Employment Agreement and the LLC Agreement.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey R. Wang
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November I, 2013
cc:
Ellis Rinaldi, Esq. (by FedEx and e-mail)
Scott Berger, Esq. (by FedEx and e-mail)
Andrew L. Sommer, Esq. (by FedEx and e-mail)
Reed S. Oslan, Esq. (by FedEx and e-mail)
Howard M. Muchnick, Esq. (by FedEx and e-mail)
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EFTA01077897
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