CIM Group filed a $149.3 million foreclosure complaint against the owners of the Goodtime Hotel in Miami Beach, according to a March 24 announcement. The legal action targets an entity managed by Eric Birnbaum and Michael Fascitelli of Imperial Companies, following alleged defaults on loan agreements.
The dispute highlights ongoing financial and operational challenges for the high-profile hotel, which has attracted attention due to its celebrity partners and recent legal battles. The property’s ownership reportedly stopped making regular interest payments on a $152 million loan in 2024 and did not pay off the debt when it matured that year.
Birnbaum, Fascitelli, and Jeffrey Gilbert—attorney for CIM’s affiliate—declined to comment on the situation. Legal filings indicate that CIM is seeking not only repayment but also enforcement of assignments related to leases, rents, hotel revenues, and security deposits. CIM has demanded that all hotel income be turned over or deposited into court while proceedings are ongoing.
The developers previously acquired the site for $36 million in 2015 before bringing on music producer Pharrell Williams, nightlife entrepreneur David Grutman, and designer Ken Fulk as partners. Construction was financed with a $45 million Bank OZK loan. Despite opening in 2021 as part of Marriott’s Tribute Portfolio—and its initial celebrity cachet—the hotel has faced operational issues such as noise complaints that led to city permit reviews.
Parallel litigation continues in New York Supreme Court regarding a disputed $10 million personal guarantee payment tied to the same property. In response to CIM’s claims about breached guarantees after negotiations over surrendering the hotel via deed-in-lieu of foreclosure failed, Birnbaum and Fascitelli have counterclaimed that CIM exploited a drafting error in their agreement—allegedly missed by their former lawyer at Latham & Watkins—to expand their financial exposure beyond what was originally intended.
As legal proceedings advance both in Florida and New York courts, questions remain about future ownership of the Goodtime Hotel amid continued financial pressures.
