Neither side would comment on the suit.

NorthStar is based at 527 Madison Ave. David Hamamoto, formerlythe co-head of the Whitehall funds at Goldman Sachs & Co. and apartner there, and Edward Scheetz, formerly a partner at ApolloReal Estate Advisors, founded the company together. In 1997 theyraised $300 million from qualified institutional buyers, includingWalt Disney Corp. and Northwestern Mutual Life. NorthStar filed itsS-11 in 1998 to allow it to trade shares.

NorthStar went on to buy a controlling interest in Ian SchragerHotels, a company formed by the co-creator of Studio 54. Schrager'shotels are among the trendiest, frequented by celebrities from theentertainment and modeling industries. NorthStar also committed $35million to help capitalize a company funding mortgages onapproximately 30 of US Franchise Systems' holdings. It alsoinvested in a joint venture that owns 350 Washington St. in Boston.In 1998, NorthStar teamed with Andrew Davidoff and Emmes' seniormanagement to purchase a controlling interest in Emmes & Co.LLC for $55 million.