TA PLLC Real Estate, Litigation Partners Collaborate to Secure Resounding Victory for Miami Developer
Conclusion to multi-year litigation on multiple fronts permits client to get back to
business with residential real estate project worth millions
Miami, FL – January 12, 2024 – Attorneys at TA PLLC achieved a big win for their client
in a matter involving a South Florida residential real estate project with a projected value
in the tens of millions of dollars. The case required the expertise of partners from both the
firm’s real estate and litigation departments to overcome several hurdles that lasted nearly
two years.
TA PLLC represented Vanfu Holdings LLC, a Miami-based developer, in a dispute
brought by minority member and manager, Yanser Robaina. Vanfu is developing a
community of single-family homes near Homestead, Florida. In addition to Robaina’s
duties as manager of the LLC, Robaina was also brought on to manage the development
of the project, and Vanfu and Robaina were to split the profits from the development.
However, more than three years into the development, the project was barely 25%
developed. Vanfu’s majority member decided to remove Robaina as the manager as a
result, which Robaina steadfastly disputed.
Almost as quickly as Robaina was made aware of his removal as manager of the LLC,
he filed suit against Vanfu seeking nearly $2,000,000 for his alleged contributions to the
development.
What followed was a period of nearly two years of litigation where the TA PLLC team
faced several obstacles.
“Vanfu was essentially playing whack-a-mole in trying to rid itself of liens filed against the
project by Robaina and his associates,” said TA PLLC partner Alexander Salinas. “As
soon as Vanfu successfully sought judicial intervention to dissolve a lien, another would
spring up out of nowhere.”
Rather than allowing Vanfu to successfully conclude developing the project and distribute
the profits, Robaina insisted upon adopting a very aggressive litigation posture in an
attempt to force Vanfu to buy him out on his terms.
The project had at least five different liens filed against it by Robaina and his associates
in less than two years, essentially paralyzing it. No sales could take place because no
buyer would close subject to the Robaina liens, and no underwriter was willing to “insure
over” the liens. Many purchasers decided to pull out of their purchase contracts.
After successfully moving to have the first lien dissolved, a lis pendens that was filed less
than a month after the removal of Robaina, the TA PLLC team faced another lien only a
few weeks later. This lien was filed by SFMBR Holdings, a brokerage affiliated with one
of Robaina’s long-time business associates, and it involved a contract Robaina
purportedly signed on behalf of Vanfu, though he lacked the authority to do so and never
obtained approval from the majority member.
TA PLLC advised its client to take the offensive and seek judicial intervention to dissolve
the liens filed by SFMBR by initiating a separate, private arbitration with a panel of three
arbitrators, pursuant to the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules. SFMBR made at least four
different lien filings, including a filing on the cusp of an order dissolving its liens.
Another significant hurdle faced by the team was the potential foreclosure of the property.
While Vanfu was fighting to rid itself of the unauthorized liens, its lender filed a foreclosure
action against the project. TA PLLC negotiated hard to keep the lender at bay during the
pendency of the foreclosure process.
After multiple legal victories by TA PLLC on behalf of Vanfu, including an order from the
panel of arbitrators dissolving all of the liens, Robaina was left with little choice but to
“drop arms,” resigning from Vanfu at no cost to Vanfu and foregoing any and all economic
interests he had in the project.
“It is extremely rewarding, and we are very pleased to deliver such a great result for the
client after a long, hard battle. We were fortunate to have a client who had the appetite
to see this to the finish line and allow us to pull out all the stops from a litigation strategy
perspective,” said Ari M. Tenzer, the founder of the firm and the real estate partner for the
matter.
ABOUT TA PLLC
TA PLLC is a full-service business law firm offering both domestic and international clients
sophisticated legal representation in connection with a wide range of commercial matters,
both transactional and dispute-related, including real estate, hospitality, mergers and
acquisitions, general corporate matters, complex commercial litigation, and US and
international arbitration.