Paul M. “Tad” O’Connor, Co-Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Litigation practice, is a distinguished trial and appellate litigator focusing on complex commercial cases. Tad’s clients have included, among others, TPG, Fortress Investment Group, a lender in a dispute relating to Liverpool Football Club, and major international real estate and hospitality companies including InterContinental Hotels Group, SL Green Realty, JDS Development, L and L Holdings, Maximus, Crowne Plaza, Morgans, Hilton and Aman Resorts.
Tad represents private equity firms, financial institutions, real estate developers and owners, hotel operators, major corporations and wealthy individuals in federal and state courts around the country and before arbitration tribunals in the United States and Europe.
Tad also has significant experience handling real estate disputes related to commercial and hotel properties around the country, including the representation of hotel operators in disputes with owners. His successful work in this area has been instrumental in the firm’s Real Estate Litigation Practice Group being recognized as Band 1 by Chambers USA, and Tier 1 by U.S. News – Best Lawyers.
In addition, Tad has been recognized as a Band 1 practitioner by Chambers USA and he has been named a Real Estate Trailblazer by the National Law Journal. The Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, Lawdragon and Super Lawyers also recognize him as one of the top litigators in the United States.
As a result of his work, Tad has been appointed by courts to serve as a bankruptcy trustee and as a director of a facility administering large product liability settlements.
Work Highlights:
- 111 West 57th Property Owner LLC in prevailing at the trial court and on appeal at the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, which unanimously dismissed claims of breaches of fiduciary duty and constructive trust involving the 90-story luxury condominium located at 111 West 57th Street in Manhattan, brought by AmBase, a former indirect equity investor in the project. The panel also affirmed the cancellation of a lis pendens filed against the property.
- TPG, one of the world’s largest publicly traded private equity firms, in a variety of matters, including in litigation related to a Greek telecommunications company.
- InterContinental Hotels Group (“IHG”) in obtaining significant injunctive relief, upheld on appeal, for IHG in an action involving its long-term license agreement related to the 795-room Crown Plaza Times Square hotel in Manhattan.
- Hudson Realty Capital in a case involving misconduct in a planned 1,000-acre real estate development in Apex, North Carolina. After filing a complaint against C. Thomas Hendrickson, and numerous entities under his control, seeking redress for their misconduct, we successfully defeated defendants’ motion to move the case to North Carolina. We also defeated defendants’ motion to dismiss in its entirety.
- JDS Development in the dismissal of state and federal RICO claims against the developer related to a large residential project in Manhattan, upheld by the Second Circuit.
Updated Sep 2023
