BOSTON, Aug. 3, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winthrop Realty Trust (NYSE:FUR) announced today that in its pending lawsuit against CBS Corporation and Viacom/Westinghouse of PA, Inc. (collectively, "CBS") in the Alleghany County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, CBS filed a motion with the Court seeking to strike from the docket Winthrop's notice to the court that it intends to post on its website for the benefit of its shareholders a video showing the significant state of disrepair at Winthrop's Churchill, Pennsylvania property which is currently leased to CBS. In addition, on May 26, 2010 CBS previously refused media access to tour the Churchill property.
The Churchill property is a 1,000,000 square foot office and research facility net leased by a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS from a subsidiary of Winthrop. CBS has elected not to renew its lease at the expiration of the current term which expires December 31, 2010. Winthrop brought the action seeking damages in excess of $29 million for CBS' failure to maintain and return the Churchill property in good repair.
Michael L. Ashner, Winthrop's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated "apparently CBS, the parent company of CBS News and the investigative 60 Minutes show, does not believe it need adhere to the adage 'that what is good for the goose is good for the gander'."
Winthrop Realty Trust is a NYSE-listed real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Additional information on Winthrop Realty Trust is available on its Web site at www.winthropreit.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein contain "forward-looking" statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or collectively impact the matters herein described. These are detailed from time to time in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's SEC reports. Further information relating to the Company's financial position, results of operations, and investor information is contained in the Company's annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC and available for download at its website www.winthropreit.com or at the SEC website www.sec.gov.