Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020
NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022
Judith A. Archer
Victoria V. Corder
Sean M. Topping
NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT US LLP
1301 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10019-6022
Tel.: (212) 318-3000
Fax: (212) 318-3400
judith.archer@nortonrosefulbright.com
victoria.corder@nortonrosefulbright.com
sean.topping@nortonrosefulbright.com
Attorneys for Defendants
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK
YASEMIN TEKINER,
in her individual capacity, as a beneficiary
and a Trustee of The Yasemin Tekiner
2011 Descendants Trust and derivatively as Index No.: 657193/2020
a holder of equitable interests in a
shareholder or a member of the Company Motion Sequence #10
Defendants,
AFFIDAVIT OF GONCA TEKINER
Plaintiff, CHELSEA IN OPPOSITION TO
PROPOSED INTERVENOR-
-against- PLAINTIFF ZEYNEP TEKINER’S
MOTION TO INTERVENE AND FOR
BREMEN HOUSE INC., BREMEN HOUSE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
TEXAS, INC., GERMAN NEWS COMPANY,
INC., GERMAN NEWS TEXAS, INC., 254-258
W. 35TH ST. LLC, BERRIN TEKINER, GONCA
TEKINER, and BILLUR AKIPEK, in her capacity
as a Trustee of The Yasemin Tekiner 2011
Descendants Trust,
Defendants.
STATE OF CONNECTICUT )
) ss:
COUNTY OF FAIRFIELD )
GONCA TEKINER CHELSEA, being duly sworn, deposes and says:
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1. I am the President and a member of the Bremen House, Inc. (“Bremen House”)
and German News Company, Inc. (“German News,” and collectively the “Companies”). I submit
this affidavit in opposition to proposed intervenor-plaintiff Zeynep Tekiner’s Motion to Intervene
and for Preliminary Injunction. This affidavit is based upon my personal knowledge.
2. In opposition to Plaintiff’s initial motion for preliminary injunctive relief, I
submitted an affidavit, dated January 14, 2021, seeking to provide context for Defendants’
opposition brief and to correct Plaintiff’s misstatements. (See NYSCEF No. 34) That affidavit
is incorporated by reference herein.
3. I also recently submitted an affidavit in opposition to Plaintiff’s motion for leave to
renew her preliminary injunction motion, dated March 24, 2022, to correct Yasemin’s
misstatements about a home my husband and I recently purchased and two cars we own. (See
NYSCEF No. 232) That affidavit is likewise incorporated by reference herein.
4. I again write to correct not just various misstatements included in Zeynep’s
affidavits filed in support of her motion to intervene and for injunctive relief, (NYSCEF No. 217),
and in support of Yasemin’s motion for leave to renew, (NYSCEF No. 291), and her reply
affidavit, but also her portrayal of our family. Zeynep claims to be “afraid” of me and does not
“want to live in constant fear of” our mother, Berrin Tekiner, and me. (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶¶6, 47)
While Zeynep has always been incredibly emotional and sensitive, her claims now to “fear” us are
baseless and overly dramatic.
5. Zeynep’s motives for including various misstatements and mistruths against me are
clear. As she admits in her latest affidavit, Zeynep is upset with me for purportedly breaking a
“pact” among Yasemin, Zeynep, and I to “stick together” against my mother. (NYSCEF No. 291
¶6) Not only is this misleading and inaccurate, but it also reflects just how petty and childish
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Yasemin and Zeynep’s claims are. They have no place in a legal dispute and are a total waste of
everyone’s time.
My Work for the Companies
6. I have worked for the Defendant Companies since around 2005 and am the
President of Bremen House and German News.
7. Both Yasemin and Zeynep take issue with my salary, including calling it
“exorbitant.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶34) Contrary to Yasemin and Zeynep, who have done little for
the Companies, I am the only sister who works full-time for the Companies. My daily
responsibilities include reviewing rent collection, applications, and renewals, communicating with
tenants and vendors, conducting market research, reviewing financial statements, and overseeing
building repairs, maintenance, and renovations.
8. Zeynep’s claims that I “barely go to the office,” (NYSCEF No. 291 ¶20), are
baseless and untrue and largely irrelevant. Prior to 2020, I ordinarily came into the office 5 days
a week. During Covid lockdowns, I did not come into the office and, instead, worked from home
like almost everyone else. I have now returned to working from our office some days and working
from home other days. I now work roughly three days per week from the office and two days per
week from my home. I also am available by phone or email on nights and weekends as issues
arise that require my attention. This additional flexibility is appropriate, and needed, as our family
business has transitioned away from the New York City market toward triple net properties (in
which the leases themselves are responsible for handling maintenance and other issues) in different
states. By contrast, Zeynep does not work for the Companies – be it at home or at the office.
9. I do not “spend long periods of time travelling outside of New York” as Zeynep
claims. (Id.). Unlike Yasemin and Zeynep, I actually do my job remotely, rather than sitting
-3-
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around purporting to have careers as a screenwriter or painter without any regular work or
prospects.
10. Both Yasemin and Zeynep take issue with my employment agreement. There is
nothing out of the ordinary with an employee, much less the President, of a company having an
employment agreement. Yasemin never asked for an employment agreement. I encouraged
Zeynep to get an employment contract, but she expressly rejected the idea of any employment
agreement because she feared Yasemin’s reaction.
11. As I clearly set out before, I do not receive the benefit of “multiple Company
properties.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶¶13, 17) When I moved to Bronxville in 2017, the Companies
put on the market, periodically rented, and then finally sold my former apartment in Manhattan.
Further, I do not live in a Company-owned house any longer. 81 Tanglewylde, my former home
in Bronxville is on the market, and I moved into a home purchased with my husband’s money.
12. The Companies also do not own any “luxury cars.” (Id. ¶17) The Companies do
employ an individual, Jose Salazar, who serves as a driver (primarily for my mother Berrin, but
also for Zeynep and Yasemin in the past), and as superintendent for some of the Companies’
properties. Any cars that I have purchased have been with my own savings.
13. As my mother has explained previously, the Companies do not employ multiple
“drivers” or “maids.” (Id. ¶17) Jose and Maria Salazar perform such tasks, as well as a number
of other duties for the Companies. Jose Salazar works as the Companies’ driver, including driving
Berrin, Zeynep, Yasemin, and me as needed. Jose also works as a lobby employee at 254-258
W. 35th Street and serves as a superintendent as needed at other properties owned by the
Companies. Before the Companies sold 220 East 86th Street as part of the Extell Sale, Jose was
the superintendent of that building as well. Maria Salazar works as a housekeeper for the
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Companies, including turning over apartments between tenants and cleaning building common
areas. In the past, Berrin, Zeynep, and Yasemin have all had their personal residences cleaned
by Maria and never complained about her role in the Companies.
14. After watching Yasemin and her counsel struggle to explain how my mental health
or purported substance use is relevant at all in this case, Zeynep now conveniently completely
fabricates a story that I was “impaired” during the Companies’ sale of several Upper East Side
properties to Extell Development (“Extell”) in late 2020 because I had “gone on an extended
drinking binge.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶34; NYSCEF No. 291 ¶15) The claim is offensive and false.
I was not impaired during the Extell Sale and was certainly not on a “drinking binge” Zeynep
provides no evidence or proof of this claim. It sounds to me as if Zeynep tried to call me and I
didn’t respond immediately, from which she has manufactured a lie. Like so much of her affidavit,
this is completely made up.
15. Zeynep also now claims that she “did not even agree with the original terms” of the
Extell Sale” and that I purportedly hung up on her when she claims to have told me that she did
not agree with the final sale price. (NYSCEF No. 291 ¶15) Again, this is not true. To the extent
that she expressed any opinions at all—which were few and far between—Zeynep was supportive
of the Extell Sale. She signed off on it, was privy to numerous calls with our broker concerning
the challenging real estate market, and benefited from the sale. This is, yet again, another baseless
accusation that she has made up in order to support Yasemin’s claims, which are now her claims
too.
The Companies’ Office
16. Zeynep claims—wholly apart from any of the allegations included in Yasemin’s
Complaint or her proposed Complaint—that she was “banished” from the Companies’ offices in
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February 2021 because she “raised concerns about the legality of the office space.” (NYSCEF
No. 217 ¶ 14) This is completely untrue, as I have always encouraged her to get involved in the
Companies, including coming into the office, even if she was not helpful with any Company
business. We have always tried to make her feel useful, even having her plan something as minor
as office party.
17. Zeynep has never had any interest in coming into the office, period. In recent years,
I have been with Zeynep in the office a handful of times. None of those times was Zeynep actually
doing any work, but instead she was there to wait between appointments or events she was
attending in Manhattan.
18. I do not believe Zeynep is severely allergic to cats, as she has in the past actually
owned a cat. However, we made a number of accommodations in our old office for Zeynep,
including creating a separate office for her, keeping the door closed to prevent cats from entering
the space, and using an air filtration system. Our new office space at 200 East 85th Street is a
converted residential apartment, just as our last office was before we moved because that building
was sold to Extell. However, the office is smaller than our former office. Zeynep’s desk was
removed to accommodate the new communal work environment of the Companies’ office, not to
make it “virtually impossible for her to work out of the office.” (Id. ¶16) As Zeynep knows, and
it was made clear to her, she could use other spaces within the office to work if she wanted to,
including separate units which the office cats cannot access. She has never wanted to work
though.
19. To my knowledge, we never had any issues with the Department of Buildings
(“DOB”) or any other government agency concerning the E. 85th St. office space. While I was not
in the office when the DOB inspector came by in February 2021, I learned about it afterwards. I
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consulted our lawyer . I never said that the Companies only consulted with a lawyer to “make it
look like we are addressing the issue,” as Zeynep claims. (Id. ¶16)
20. As Zeynep notes in her affidavit, we spoke with one of the Companies’ lawyers
about the issue. While I will not reveal the specifics of my conversation with Bob Jacobs, of
Belkin Burden Goldman, as they are privileged, the Companies understood they could have an
office at 200 East 85th Street. In addition, we contacted Jack Jaffa & Associates, whom the
Companies regularly uses as an expediter, who confirmed that there were no violations listed
concerning the office. As far as I am aware, and based upon regular reports we receive from Jack
Jaffa & Associates, there is no violation for our office.
Yasemin’s Termination
21. Yasemin was removed as a director of the Companies on January 4, 2021 and as an
officer on January 8, 2021. Berrin, Zeynep, Billur, and I discussed Yasemin’s removal several
times before she was removed. I will not repeat the reasons why Yasemin was fired, which have
been addressed at length in the past. (See, e.g., NYSCEF No. 34 ¶¶7-11)
22. The story Zeynep tells now in her affidavit about Yasemin’s removal, (NYSCEF
No. 217 ¶¶19-24), is a complete fabrication intended to bolster her own application for an
injunction. Zeynep was never threatened by my mother, me, Billur, or anyone else, into consenting
to the removal of Yasemin.
23. Zeynep claims that she was “vehemently opposed” to firing Yasemin, (id. ¶23),
when in reality she was angry at Yasemin for bringing a lawsuit and disturbing the peace among
our family. As Zeynep acknowledges, we had several conversations, some of which took place
over the phone and others in person. On these calls, Berrin, Billur, and I were all calm and
discussed our reasons for removing Yasemin—primarily that we feared that she would continue
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to disrupt the ongoing business and transactions of the Companies, including the pending like-kind
exchanges under IRS Code section 1031 that had to be completed urgently to obtain the tax benefits
to benefit the Companies. This was precisely the concern I addressed in my original affidavit on
January 15, 2021—nearly 15 months ago. (NYSCEF No. 34 ¶11)
24. At no point did I say or imply that I wanted to “wipe [Yasemin] out,” (NYSCEF
No. 217 ¶33), and—as my mother said previously, (NYSCEF No. 225 ¶14),—whether Yasemin
could fund a litigation was not discussed.
25. I recall Zeynep being emotional during our discussions about removing Yasemin,
but that is how Zeynep’s personality always is. She is very fragile and emotional. She cries at the
drop of the hat over various things and has a difficult time making rational decisions. If anything,
at that time, Zeynep was upset at Yasemin for suing the Companies and putting her in a position
to choose sides. She was also very upset and angry about what the lawsuit was doing to our family
and her personally as she has no other livelihood and lives off of my mother. If Zeynep disagreed
so strongly with the Companies’ decision to remove Yasemin, she could have resigned or simply
declined to sign the documents. Instead, she made the decision to stay on the Bremen House board
in order to “keep her power” and look out for her own interests.
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Dated: New York, New York
April8. 2022
Gonca Tekiner { elsea
Sworn tobefore me
on April , 2022
Notary Public
PETER MERTZ
Notary Public-State of New York
.
No. 02ME5046271
Qualified
in New York
County
My Commission ExpiresJuly10, 2023
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CERTIFICATION
Counsel for Defendants hereby certifies that this document complies with the word count
limit of Commercial Division Rule 17. This affidavit was prepared using Microsoft Word, and
the total number of words in this affidavit, exclusive of the caption, table of contents, table of
authorities, and signature block is less than 7,000 words.
Dated: April 8, 2022 By: /s/ Judith A. Archer
New York, New York Judith A. Archer
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Preview
FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 Judith A. Archer Victoria V. Corder Sean M. Topping NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT US LLP 1301 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10019-6022 Tel.: (212) 318-3000 Fax: (212) 318-3400 judith.archer@nortonrosefulbright.com victoria.corder@nortonrosefulbright.com sean.topping@nortonrosefulbright.com Attorneys for Defendants SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK YASEMIN TEKINER, in her individual capacity, as a beneficiary and a Trustee of The Yasemin Tekiner 2011 Descendants Trust and derivatively as Index No.: 657193/2020 a holder of equitable interests in a shareholder or a member of the Company Motion Sequence #10 Defendants, AFFIDAVIT OF GONCA TEKINER Plaintiff, CHELSEA IN OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED INTERVENOR- -against- PLAINTIFF ZEYNEP TEKINER’S MOTION TO INTERVENE AND FOR BREMEN HOUSE INC., BREMEN HOUSE PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION TEXAS, INC., GERMAN NEWS COMPANY, INC., GERMAN NEWS TEXAS, INC., 254-258 W. 35TH ST. LLC, BERRIN TEKINER, GONCA TEKINER, and BILLUR AKIPEK, in her capacity as a Trustee of The Yasemin Tekiner 2011 Descendants Trust, Defendants. STATE OF CONNECTICUT ) ) ss: COUNTY OF FAIRFIELD ) GONCA TEKINER CHELSEA, being duly sworn, deposes and says: 1 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 1. I am the President and a member of the Bremen House, Inc. (“Bremen House”) and German News Company, Inc. (“German News,” and collectively the “Companies”). I submit this affidavit in opposition to proposed intervenor-plaintiff Zeynep Tekiner’s Motion to Intervene and for Preliminary Injunction. This affidavit is based upon my personal knowledge. 2. In opposition to Plaintiff’s initial motion for preliminary injunctive relief, I submitted an affidavit, dated January 14, 2021, seeking to provide context for Defendants’ opposition brief and to correct Plaintiff’s misstatements. (See NYSCEF No. 34) That affidavit is incorporated by reference herein. 3. I also recently submitted an affidavit in opposition to Plaintiff’s motion for leave to renew her preliminary injunction motion, dated March 24, 2022, to correct Yasemin’s misstatements about a home my husband and I recently purchased and two cars we own. (See NYSCEF No. 232) That affidavit is likewise incorporated by reference herein. 4. I again write to correct not just various misstatements included in Zeynep’s affidavits filed in support of her motion to intervene and for injunctive relief, (NYSCEF No. 217), and in support of Yasemin’s motion for leave to renew, (NYSCEF No. 291), and her reply affidavit, but also her portrayal of our family. Zeynep claims to be “afraid” of me and does not “want to live in constant fear of” our mother, Berrin Tekiner, and me. (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶¶6, 47) While Zeynep has always been incredibly emotional and sensitive, her claims now to “fear” us are baseless and overly dramatic. 5. Zeynep’s motives for including various misstatements and mistruths against me are clear. As she admits in her latest affidavit, Zeynep is upset with me for purportedly breaking a “pact” among Yasemin, Zeynep, and I to “stick together” against my mother. (NYSCEF No. 291 ¶6) Not only is this misleading and inaccurate, but it also reflects just how petty and childish -2- 2 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 Yasemin and Zeynep’s claims are. They have no place in a legal dispute and are a total waste of everyone’s time. My Work for the Companies 6. I have worked for the Defendant Companies since around 2005 and am the President of Bremen House and German News. 7. Both Yasemin and Zeynep take issue with my salary, including calling it “exorbitant.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶34) Contrary to Yasemin and Zeynep, who have done little for the Companies, I am the only sister who works full-time for the Companies. My daily responsibilities include reviewing rent collection, applications, and renewals, communicating with tenants and vendors, conducting market research, reviewing financial statements, and overseeing building repairs, maintenance, and renovations. 8. Zeynep’s claims that I “barely go to the office,” (NYSCEF No. 291 ¶20), are baseless and untrue and largely irrelevant. Prior to 2020, I ordinarily came into the office 5 days a week. During Covid lockdowns, I did not come into the office and, instead, worked from home like almost everyone else. I have now returned to working from our office some days and working from home other days. I now work roughly three days per week from the office and two days per week from my home. I also am available by phone or email on nights and weekends as issues arise that require my attention. This additional flexibility is appropriate, and needed, as our family business has transitioned away from the New York City market toward triple net properties (in which the leases themselves are responsible for handling maintenance and other issues) in different states. By contrast, Zeynep does not work for the Companies – be it at home or at the office. 9. I do not “spend long periods of time travelling outside of New York” as Zeynep claims. (Id.). Unlike Yasemin and Zeynep, I actually do my job remotely, rather than sitting -3- 3 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 around purporting to have careers as a screenwriter or painter without any regular work or prospects. 10. Both Yasemin and Zeynep take issue with my employment agreement. There is nothing out of the ordinary with an employee, much less the President, of a company having an employment agreement. Yasemin never asked for an employment agreement. I encouraged Zeynep to get an employment contract, but she expressly rejected the idea of any employment agreement because she feared Yasemin’s reaction. 11. As I clearly set out before, I do not receive the benefit of “multiple Company properties.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶¶13, 17) When I moved to Bronxville in 2017, the Companies put on the market, periodically rented, and then finally sold my former apartment in Manhattan. Further, I do not live in a Company-owned house any longer. 81 Tanglewylde, my former home in Bronxville is on the market, and I moved into a home purchased with my husband’s money. 12. The Companies also do not own any “luxury cars.” (Id. ¶17) The Companies do employ an individual, Jose Salazar, who serves as a driver (primarily for my mother Berrin, but also for Zeynep and Yasemin in the past), and as superintendent for some of the Companies’ properties. Any cars that I have purchased have been with my own savings. 13. As my mother has explained previously, the Companies do not employ multiple “drivers” or “maids.” (Id. ¶17) Jose and Maria Salazar perform such tasks, as well as a number of other duties for the Companies. Jose Salazar works as the Companies’ driver, including driving Berrin, Zeynep, Yasemin, and me as needed. Jose also works as a lobby employee at 254-258 W. 35th Street and serves as a superintendent as needed at other properties owned by the Companies. Before the Companies sold 220 East 86th Street as part of the Extell Sale, Jose was the superintendent of that building as well. Maria Salazar works as a housekeeper for the -4- 4 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 Companies, including turning over apartments between tenants and cleaning building common areas. In the past, Berrin, Zeynep, and Yasemin have all had their personal residences cleaned by Maria and never complained about her role in the Companies. 14. After watching Yasemin and her counsel struggle to explain how my mental health or purported substance use is relevant at all in this case, Zeynep now conveniently completely fabricates a story that I was “impaired” during the Companies’ sale of several Upper East Side properties to Extell Development (“Extell”) in late 2020 because I had “gone on an extended drinking binge.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶34; NYSCEF No. 291 ¶15) The claim is offensive and false. I was not impaired during the Extell Sale and was certainly not on a “drinking binge” Zeynep provides no evidence or proof of this claim. It sounds to me as if Zeynep tried to call me and I didn’t respond immediately, from which she has manufactured a lie. Like so much of her affidavit, this is completely made up. 15. Zeynep also now claims that she “did not even agree with the original terms” of the Extell Sale” and that I purportedly hung up on her when she claims to have told me that she did not agree with the final sale price. (NYSCEF No. 291 ¶15) Again, this is not true. To the extent that she expressed any opinions at all—which were few and far between—Zeynep was supportive of the Extell Sale. She signed off on it, was privy to numerous calls with our broker concerning the challenging real estate market, and benefited from the sale. This is, yet again, another baseless accusation that she has made up in order to support Yasemin’s claims, which are now her claims too. The Companies’ Office 16. Zeynep claims—wholly apart from any of the allegations included in Yasemin’s Complaint or her proposed Complaint—that she was “banished” from the Companies’ offices in -5- 5 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 February 2021 because she “raised concerns about the legality of the office space.” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶ 14) This is completely untrue, as I have always encouraged her to get involved in the Companies, including coming into the office, even if she was not helpful with any Company business. We have always tried to make her feel useful, even having her plan something as minor as office party. 17. Zeynep has never had any interest in coming into the office, period. In recent years, I have been with Zeynep in the office a handful of times. None of those times was Zeynep actually doing any work, but instead she was there to wait between appointments or events she was attending in Manhattan. 18. I do not believe Zeynep is severely allergic to cats, as she has in the past actually owned a cat. However, we made a number of accommodations in our old office for Zeynep, including creating a separate office for her, keeping the door closed to prevent cats from entering the space, and using an air filtration system. Our new office space at 200 East 85th Street is a converted residential apartment, just as our last office was before we moved because that building was sold to Extell. However, the office is smaller than our former office. Zeynep’s desk was removed to accommodate the new communal work environment of the Companies’ office, not to make it “virtually impossible for her to work out of the office.” (Id. ¶16) As Zeynep knows, and it was made clear to her, she could use other spaces within the office to work if she wanted to, including separate units which the office cats cannot access. She has never wanted to work though. 19. To my knowledge, we never had any issues with the Department of Buildings (“DOB”) or any other government agency concerning the E. 85th St. office space. While I was not in the office when the DOB inspector came by in February 2021, I learned about it afterwards. I -6- 6 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 consulted our lawyer . I never said that the Companies only consulted with a lawyer to “make it look like we are addressing the issue,” as Zeynep claims. (Id. ¶16) 20. As Zeynep notes in her affidavit, we spoke with one of the Companies’ lawyers about the issue. While I will not reveal the specifics of my conversation with Bob Jacobs, of Belkin Burden Goldman, as they are privileged, the Companies understood they could have an office at 200 East 85th Street. In addition, we contacted Jack Jaffa & Associates, whom the Companies regularly uses as an expediter, who confirmed that there were no violations listed concerning the office. As far as I am aware, and based upon regular reports we receive from Jack Jaffa & Associates, there is no violation for our office. Yasemin’s Termination 21. Yasemin was removed as a director of the Companies on January 4, 2021 and as an officer on January 8, 2021. Berrin, Zeynep, Billur, and I discussed Yasemin’s removal several times before she was removed. I will not repeat the reasons why Yasemin was fired, which have been addressed at length in the past. (See, e.g., NYSCEF No. 34 ¶¶7-11) 22. The story Zeynep tells now in her affidavit about Yasemin’s removal, (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶¶19-24), is a complete fabrication intended to bolster her own application for an injunction. Zeynep was never threatened by my mother, me, Billur, or anyone else, into consenting to the removal of Yasemin. 23. Zeynep claims that she was “vehemently opposed” to firing Yasemin, (id. ¶23), when in reality she was angry at Yasemin for bringing a lawsuit and disturbing the peace among our family. As Zeynep acknowledges, we had several conversations, some of which took place over the phone and others in person. On these calls, Berrin, Billur, and I were all calm and discussed our reasons for removing Yasemin—primarily that we feared that she would continue -7- 7 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 to disrupt the ongoing business and transactions of the Companies, including the pending like-kind exchanges under IRS Code section 1031 that had to be completed urgently to obtain the tax benefits to benefit the Companies. This was precisely the concern I addressed in my original affidavit on January 15, 2021—nearly 15 months ago. (NYSCEF No. 34 ¶11) 24. At no point did I say or imply that I wanted to “wipe [Yasemin] out,” (NYSCEF No. 217 ¶33), and—as my mother said previously, (NYSCEF No. 225 ¶14),—whether Yasemin could fund a litigation was not discussed. 25. I recall Zeynep being emotional during our discussions about removing Yasemin, but that is how Zeynep’s personality always is. She is very fragile and emotional. She cries at the drop of the hat over various things and has a difficult time making rational decisions. If anything, at that time, Zeynep was upset at Yasemin for suing the Companies and putting her in a position to choose sides. She was also very upset and angry about what the lawsuit was doing to our family and her personally as she has no other livelihood and lives off of my mother. If Zeynep disagreed so strongly with the Companies’ decision to remove Yasemin, she could have resigned or simply declined to sign the documents. Instead, she made the decision to stay on the Bremen House board in order to “keep her power” and look out for her own interests. -8- 8 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 Dated: New York, New York April8. 2022 Gonca Tekiner { elsea Sworn tobefore me on April , 2022 Notary Public PETER MERTZ Notary Public-State of New York . No. 02ME5046271 Qualified in New York County My Commission ExpiresJuly10, 2023 9 of 10 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 04/08/2022 11:53 PM INDEX NO. 657193/2020 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 328 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 04/08/2022 CERTIFICATION Counsel for Defendants hereby certifies that this document complies with the word count limit of Commercial Division Rule 17. This affidavit was prepared using Microsoft Word, and the total number of words in this affidavit, exclusive of the caption, table of contents, table of authorities, and signature block is less than 7,000 words. Dated: April 8, 2022 By: /s/ Judith A. Archer New York, New York Judith A. Archer 10 of 10