The owner of an oceanfront mansion in Montauk, N.Y., sought bankruptcy protection to stop the foreclosure auction of the property, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Renowned antique frame dealer Eli Wilner’s Montauk Cliffs LLC filed for chapter 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday. Montauk Cliffs owns the 7,000-square-foot residence built on a 35.7-acre lot. The property on the eastern end of Long Island was being foreclosed by New Jersey-based lender Case Real Estate Capital LLC upon default of a $17.75 million mortgage in 2018 and was set to be sold in a foreclosure auction Thursday afternoon. Bankruptcy filings trigger an automatic stay by the court, halting all actions against the debtor’s property. “It’s our intention to market and sell the property in an orderly fashion to maximize value to all creditors,” Matthew Roseman, an attorney representing Montauk Cliffs, said Thursday. “We believe that there is substantial equity in the property.” The five-bedroom, five-bath residence has been on and off the market since 2015, initially asking for $55 million, according to Realtor.com. The price dropped to as low as $29 million in 2018 and has been listed for $39.5 million since September.
