Microsoft has sued JLL in New York County Supreme Court, claiming the real estate services firm refused to cover legal costs tied to a 2023 forklift accident at the tech giant’s Flatiron offices.
The lawsuit stems from a March 2023 incident in which construction worker Anyello Frayind was reportedly struck by a forklift while working on the build-out of Microsoft’s 150,000-square-foot office space at 122 Fifth Ave, resulting in serious, permanent injuries.
JLL was named as project manager for the build-out under a facilities management agreement first established with CBRE in 2013, the complaint states. The project management deal with JLL says the Chicago-based real estate services firm would indemnify the tenant against lawsuits related to the build-out and cover attorney fees and damages, Microsoft said in the complaint.
In its lawsuit, Microsoft alleges JLL had agreed to add Microsoft as one of the parties shielded by the brokerage’s $10M liability insurance during the build-out but didn’t actually do so. Microsoft alleges that JLL acted in bad faith when it denied coverage after Frayind filed suit in 2024.
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Frayind’s original lawsuit, filed in Kings County Supreme Court, named the building’s ownership entity and contractors. He later amended the complaint in June 2025 to include Microsoft and the forklift operator.
In its suit, Microsoft argues that both Frayind and the forklift operator were working within its leased space, contradicting JLL’s assertion that they were employed by the building’s owner for a separate project. The tech firm called JLL’s denial of coverage “factually incorrect, was made without investigation and was not in good faith.”
The Bromley Cos., which owns 122 Fifth Ave and redeveloped the building alongside Microsoft, was not named in the suit.
JLL was tapped as the project manager for properties Microsoft occupies in 2012 as part of a facilities management outsourcing deal the Redmond, Washington-based tech company officially signed with CBRE in 2013, according to the lawsuit. “JLL owed a duty of good faith and fair dealing in connection with its contractual duties and obligations,” the complaint says. “JLL breached its duty.” Microsoft says JLL failed to provide insurance coverage that it had promised to the tech firm when its Fifth Avenue offices were being built out. The accident occurred just a few months before Microsoft moved into the landmarked 11-story office building in July 2023, adding urgency to the dispute over liability and coverage.
