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Lawsuit Ties Up Trump Tower Tampa Financing

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By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 3, 2008

TAMPA - The on-again, off-again Trump Tower Tampa is in limbo — again.

Local developer, SimDag LLC, told buyers in October that it was close to getting financing, but only if Donald Trump would drop his lawsuit against the company.

According to documents filed in federal court Wednesday, the suit is moving forward.

In SimDag's legal answer to Trump's lawsuit, the company denied any wrongdoing and fought back by filing its own countersuit.

SimDag contends Trump broke a confidentiality agreement by acknowledging to the public that he merely licensed his name to SimDag and was not involved in building the tower.

Trump Tower Tampa was announced in January 2005 but has yet to go vertical because SimDag has been unable to obtain financing.

SimDag CEO Frank Dagostino said the company is "days away" from getting a loan from a New York hedge fund. The company has been negotiating with Trump, Dagostino said, but Trump won't drop his lawsuit until the financing for the tower is in place.

Trump filed suit in May, contending SimDag breached its contract by not starting construction on time and for failing to make monthly payment to Trump for the licensing agreement.

Attorneys for SimDag and Trump jointly have asked — and received — two extensions for filing SimDag's legal answer.

In November, U.S. District Judge U.S. District Judge James Whittemore agreed to the second extension but said he did so "reluctantly" and that he wouldn't approve another extension.

If the two parties didn't reach an agreement by Wednesday, he said, he expected them to move forward with the lawsuit.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.

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