Scottsdale real estate developers and shopping center owners Ron Barness and Alex Papakyriakou are facing three lawsuits related to almost $9.5 million in loans from an Oklahoma bank to the pair’s real estate partnerships. The two men also are defendants in three investor lawsuits claiming they mismanaged investments in their retail real estate endeavors.
The developers are trying to settle the investor complaints, according to several attorneys familiar with the cases. In 2008, the pair settled a similar investor suit out of court.
Barness and Papakyriakou, principals of Scottsdale-based
The pair also are involved in a number of Phoenix-area charitable organizations. Barness, for example, is active with local Jewish community causes and helped raise money for Arizona Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential bid.
Papakyriakou also goes by the name Alex Papas.
The
“We cannot comment on the record,” Manning said.
RBI and Barness’ charitable foundation did not respond to requests for comment. No official response to the lawsuit was filed by the defendants by press time.
INVESTOR CLAIMS
The investor lawsuits were filed in Maricopa County Superior Court against Barness and Papakyriakou’s real estate businesses.
Those three investor claims may be consolidated under Maricopa Superior Court Judge John Buttrick and settled together, according to legal sources who would not go on the record.
Barness and Papakyriakou’s attorney, Jeffrey Leonard, said he expects the investor lawsuits to be resolved soon. He said the resolutions would be via mutual agreement, but declined to say whether they would involve out-of-court settlements.
Leonard also would not comment about the resolution or settlement of the 2008 investor lawsuit. Barness and Papakyriakou did not comment for this story.
Other lawyers familiar with the investor suits said a settlement is being negotiated.
Robert Mitchell, the investor/plaintiff’s attorney in the 2008 claim against Barness and Papakyriakou, said he could not comment. “All I can tell you is that the case was dismissed,” he said.
The 2008 case claimed Barness and Papakyriakou deceived investors with self-deals and misrepresented sales and financial proceeds.
One of the 2009 in-vestor suits was filed by
The Laufer suit also contends Barness and Papakyriakou improperly used investment money in some deals between business entities they owned, and that the sales benefited the defendants but not the investors. The suit claims fraud, breach of contract and failure to meet fiduciary responsibilities.
Plaintiffs in the Laufer case say they invested $1.3 million in Barness-Papakyriakou real estate endeavors. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the Laufer case would not comment.
A second investor suit, filed by the Eugene and Lenore Schupak Family Trust, claims the trust invested
$10.4 million in Barness- and Papakyriakou-owned shopping centers in
The Schupak lawsuit claims Barness and Papakyriakou improperly commingled investment money, conducted deals in which they used investors’ dollars to purchase or invest in other entities owned by the defendants, and used those self-deals to collect management and broker fees. The complaint also contends the two defendants used investment entities and properties to secure loans for their personal benefit. The suit charges the defendants with fraud, misrepresentation and breach of contract, according to the case filings.
Andrew Abraham, an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the Schupak matter, declined to comment on the case, including what damages his clients are seeking.
“We have no comment on the matter we’re handling,” Abraham said.
The third suit was brought against Barness and Papa-kyriakou by investors Madeline, Nanci and Carly Goodman. Details of that claim were not available. Ivan Mathew, the
FIDUCIARY DUTY
“It’s not illegal as long as it’s adequately disclosed,” Dauber said of self-deals.
The Bank of Oklahoma and the three 2009 investor cases are active and have not yet been dismissed or finalized, according to the Superior Court docket.
Barness and his wife, Daron, head the Daron and Ron Barness Family Foundation. Ron Barness also is chairman of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in
Papakyriakou and his wife, Roxane, also have a charitable foundation: the Alex and Roxane Papas Family Foundation.
RBI is named in the Laufer lawsuit, but none of the other claims. Barness and Papakyriakou, their spouses and the various real estate partnerships they are involved in are named in all of the pending suits.
LOCAL HOLDINGS
Locations of shopping centers owned by Barness and Papakyriakou business entities:
•
• Union Crossing,
• Southwest corner of 43rd and
• Southwest corner of Gilbert and Guadalupe roads, Gilbert
• Southwest corner of 75th and
Sources: Court documents, Retail Brokers Inc.