Wrightsville Beach, N.C.- There’s a legal mystery on Wrightsville Beach that’s getting attention throughout North Carolina. News outlets from Raleigh to Charlotte are reporting on a dispute between two former co-workers over a 3,700 square foot, five bedroom, oceanfront estate that they built together as members of an LLC.
It now appears their argument is heading to court.
In early June a lawsuit was filed against one of the two former co-workers in a North Carolina State Court. Just For Buyers Realty has obtained a copy of the lawsuit, and here is what we’ve learned.
An LLC called Wrightsville Beach Property, which was specifically formed to purchase homes on the New Hanover County island, is suing one of its former members, for allegedly failing to turn over the deed to a home located on 17 East Raleigh Street.
According to the legal documents the story starts at a Virginia based technology company called Oak Grove Technologies. The lawsuit says in 2018, Mark Gross- the Oak Grove CEO – wanted to buy a home on Wrightsville Beach. It claims that he was advised by his colleague, Oak Grove Chief Financial Officer Moner Attwa, to set up an LLC for the purchase of the property. It further claims that Mr. Gross was told by Mr. Attwa that the LLC needed to have at least two members. Mr. Gross appointed Mr. Attwa to join the LLC.
Later in 2018 their company purchased a home on Asheville Street in Wrightsville Beach.
Two years after buying its first home, the LLC made its second purchase. This time it bought a vacant lot on 17 East Raleigh, and ultimately built the home that stands there today.
The lawsuit claims that the paperwork for the second purchase was handled by Mr. Attwa. But instead of listing the property under Wrightsville Beach Property LLC, the lawsuit claims he listed himself as the owner.
“Upon purchase, Defendant titled the lot in his own name with a promise to retitle the property and transfer the loan to Wrightsville Beach Property after the home was constructed. Over one million dollars of WBP funds were used to construct and furnish the house. The house is now constructed, and the Defendant has refused to transfer the legal title to the Plaintiff.”
The lawsuit is seeking the recovery of the home and its possessions.
Initially the lawsuit was filed by Wrightsville Beach Property and Mr. Gross in New Hanover County Superior Court. A few days after the paperwork was submitted the defendant filed a Notice of Removal. Mr. Attwa wants to take the case out of North Carolina State Court and put it into the federal system. This is typically done when two parties in a lawsuit live in different states. (Mr. Gross now lives full time in North Carolina while Mr. Attwa is in Virginia.) By moving the case into the federal system, under a legal theory called diversity of citizenship, it prevents either party from having a homefield advantage.
The plaintiffs have requested that the case be heard by a jury, but at the moment no trial date has been set. According to published reports the finished home on E. Raleigh street has an assessed value of $1.5 million. According to the court documents Moner Attwa no longer works as the CFO of Oak Grove Technologies.