Hamptons restaurateur turned developer Jeremy Morton has quietly walked away from a prime Sag Harbor retail corner and is now staring down a crowded docket of lawsuits, lender actions and contractor claims. Projects tied to his firm, Excelsior Development, have slowed as revenue dropped and a stack of liens, judgments and short term loans piled up. Subcontractors on one East Hampton build say they are owed about $300,000, while creditor filings compiled by lenders and factoring firms now tally millions more across his portfolio. Morton has told reporters that litigation is simply part of doing business and that he expects the courts to sort it all out.
As detailed by The Real Deal, Morton turned over the high profile Sag Harbor corner at 2 Main Street and 22 Long Island Avenue to lender Mavik Capital in May, after court filings and suits had pushed alleged unpaid claims by April toward roughly $10 million. That reporting describes a pattern of short term borrowing, cross collateralized deals and stalled construction that left contractors and some lenders pressing for payment.
Sag Harbor Purchase and Financing Tangle
Morton bought the roughly 22,000 square foot Sag Harbor corner in 2025 in a deal local sources pegged at about $30 million, lining up substantial financing for a planned redevelopment. Behind The Hedges and coverage in the East Hampton Star reported that he secured roughly $40 million in financing and pitched plans for second floor additions and new facades along the corner. Planning hurdles, tenant turnover and funding strains slowed the project, and by May the property had reverted to the lender.
Short Term Advances, Confessed Judgments and Lender Suits
To keep projects moving, Morton leaned on a mix of bridge loans, personal mortgages and receivables financing that lenders say went unpaid. The Real Deal reported that he took a $310,000 cash advance from Simply Funding, stopped making the required payments and signed a confession of judgment tied to that advance, and that he drew nearly $3.8 million from U.S. Strategic Capital that lenders say was backed by his home and other properties. Court dockets show foreclosure and default actions from multiple lenders, and public filings indicate creditor collection efforts picked up speed through the spring. Records on Trellis further show recent collection motions and related court orders.
Contractors, Liens and Cross Collateral Claims
Subcontractors at Morton’s residential project at 126 Long Lane have filed mechanic’s liens and say they are owed roughly $300,000, while other creditors have recorded mortgages and judgments that encumber his remaining assets. Property records for 126 Long Lane and related parcels show recent sales, mortgages and lien activity, according to PropertyShark, and local reporting has followed a series of sales and transfers across Morton’s portfolio. Those overlapping claims, including mortgages, collateral assignments and judgments, have effectively cross collateralized projects and made it harder for individual creditors to extract value cleanly.
Legal Risks for Lenders, Contractors and Tenants
Because Morton personally guaranteed many loans and pledged homes as collateral, any turnover or foreclosure action could expose his personal assets and the special purpose entities that hold various projects to competing creditor claims. Court dockets and collection motions point to disputes over who gets paid first and to legal complications that tend to slow, not speed, recoveries for contractors and other smaller creditors. For local tenants and small businesses at the affected retail corners, the more immediate headache is construction delay and the uncertainty that comes with changing ownership while creditors fight over priority.
Morton has sold some assets and continued fundraising conversations even as lawsuits accumulated, and he has told reporters that litigation is a routine feature of his work and that he remains confident judges will resolve the disputes. For Sag Harbor and nearby commercial blocks, the next few months will show whether lenders opt to finish, sell or rework Morton’s plans, and how quickly unpaid contractors and vendors ultimately see their money.
