Donald Trump sues condo developer

Property billionaire Donald Trump is suing luxury condo developer Crescent Heights Diamond after the company licensed his name, but backtracked on their contract with the real estate mogul.

The company licensed the name "Trump Plaza", for which they intended to use for a 70-story residential and commercial tower it planned in Ramat Gan, Israel, near Tel Aviv. They agreed to give Trump a cut of 25% on each unit sold, plus other royalties.

But in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Trump says that after working tirelessly to promote the project, Crescent Heights are in breach of their agreement, after they sold the land for which it paid $44 million in April 2007 to another development company for $80 million - making a $36 million profit.

"They announce with tremendous fanfare that Trump is their partner. Then, instead of building, they flip the site," said Donald. "They used my name to pump up the value, then made a big profit.

"We put this site on the map, and under the contract they are obligated to complete the project. They are not good representatives for the great state of Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves."

A lawyer for Crescent Heights said that Trump "is not entitled to any compensation . . . The lawsuit is without merit."