Donors sue No Labels over possible third-party presidential ticket, alleging ‘bait and switch’

Two prominent No Labels donors are suing the centrist political group for pulling a “bait and switch” by preparing to back a possible third-party presidential bid in 2024, after soliciting donations to support “bipartisan activism.”

No Labels “has lost its way, abandoned its original mission, and fundamentally betrayed its donors’ trust in the process,” the plaintiffs, Douglas and Jonathan Durst, allege in the lawsuit, filed with the New York State Supreme Court Tuesday.

The Durst cousins, part of a powerful New York real estate family, are suing No Labels for the $145,000 that members of the Durst family have donated to the organization since 2016, accusing No Labels of a breach of contract and “unjust enrichment,” according to the lawsuit.

Dan Webb, an attorney with No Labels, slammed the lawsuit as "frivolous," and without merit, suggesting in a statement that the Dursts' complaint was part of a conspiracy by "partisan operatives," to "subvert No Labels’ ballot access work."

"Douglas’s last contribution was six years ago, and Jody’s last contribution was over three years ago. These contributions were spent on priorities that the Dursts had no complaints about at the time. No Labels’ fundamental mission has never changed," Webb said in the statement.

Douglas Durst is a member of one of the city’s most prominent real estate families, and is the third generation to lead its eponymous development firm. The Dursts have occupied a prime perch in New York’s dynastic real estate world for more than a century, while drawing intrigue outside development circles as well.

Robert Durst, Douglas’ older brother, was sentenced to life in prison in 2021 after he was convicted of murdering his friend two decades prior. He was also indicted for murder in the death of his first wife, Kathie Durst, but died in 2022 before facing charges. His connection to the murders was examined in the 2015 HBO miniseries, “The Jinx.”

Douglas Durst is not known to back down from fights — going up against powerful adversaries during his some five decades in the industry, including a yearslong feud with former Mayor Bill de Blasio that was punctuated by fights over a real estate project in Queens and a contract to run citywide ferry service.

“Despite this promise to work within the two-party system to effect change, No Labels pulled a ‘bait and switch,’ launching its ‘Insurance Policy 2024’ initiative last year, ‘preparing for the possibility’ of nominating a third-party Presidential candidate,” the lawsuit says. “Had No Labels ever given any indication that it might pursue such a gambit, the Dursts never would have funded the organization. That is because, in a Presidential election, anyone who votes for a third-party candidate votes on neither side.”

The Dursts began donating to No Labels when the organization was highlighting its efforts to pursue "bipartisan policy solutions through Congressional action," Randy Mastro, the lawyer representing the Dursts in the case, said in the complaint. But since then, "No Labels has shifted seismically from its original mission, and its donors, like the Dursts, who believed in the mission and financially supported it, should not have to stand idly by while their dollars are used to threaten democracy," the lawsuit says.

No Labels has for months signaled that it would present a third-party ticket in the 2024 presidential contest if it seemed clear that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump would be the nominees for their respective parties. Several prominent centrist politicians have been floated as possible No Labels candidates, including the group’s former co-chair, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and the Senate's stalwart centrist Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

No Labels has talked previously about how a unity ticket could serve as an “insurance policy” if the election appears headed for a Biden-Trump rematch. But some Democrats fear that such a ticket would take votes away from Biden and jeopardize his chance of getting reelected.

“A third ticket option is a clear break from No Labels’ prior goal of uniting the two parties in Congress to pursue common sense solutions—instead, it incites division amongst Americans,” the lawsuit says.

Janaki Chadha contributed to this report.