Note 16 – Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we may be involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business.

AmBase Corporation: On June 28, 2018, AmBase Corporation, 111 West 57th Street Manager Funding LLC and 111 West 57th Investment LLC (together, "Plaintiffs") commenced a now-dismissed action captioned AmBase Corporation et al v. ACREFI Mortgage Lending, LLC et al (No 653251/2018) in New York Supreme Court (the "Apollo Action"). The complaint named as defendants (i) a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the "Subsidiary"), (ii) the Company, and (iii) certain funds managed by Apollo, who were co-lenders on a mezzanine loan against the development of a residential condominium building in Manhattan, NY. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants tortiously interfered with the Plaintiffs' joint venture agreement with the developers of the project, and that the defendants aided and abetted breaches of fiduciary duty by the developers of the project. The Plaintiffs alleged the loss of a $70.0 million investment plus punitive damages. The defendants' motion to dismiss was granted on October 23, 2019 and the Court entered judgment dismissing the complaint in its entirety on November 8, 2019. Plaintiffs appealed, the parties fully briefed the appeal, and then Plaintiffs dropped the appeal, and the case remains dismissed.

Plaintiffs amended the complaint in a separate action in 2021, 111 West 57th Investment LLC v. 111W57 Mezz Investor LLC (No. 655031/2017) also in New York Supreme Court (the "April 2021 Action") to name Apollo Global Management, Inc., the Subsidiary, the Company, and certain funds managed by Apollo as defendants. The April 2021 Action concerns overlapping claims and the same condominium development project that the Apollo Action concerned. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was granted in part and denied in part on December 15, 2022. The Court dismissed the claim against Apollo Global Management, Inc. and the Company. Apollo appealed the decision with respect to the remaining claim. On October 5, 2023, the Appellate Division, First Department granted Apollo's appeal, thereby dismissing the remaining claim against the Apollo entities who were co-lenders on the mezzanine loan, including the Subsidiary. Plaintiffs filed a motion for leave with the Court of Appeals on November 3, 2023 which the Court denied on April 23, 2024. On July 12, 2024, Plaintiffs filed new motions for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals. On February 18, 2025, the Court of Appeals granted Plaintiffs' motion for leave to appeal and briefing of the appeal is now complete. The Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear the appeal on April 14, 2026. No reasonable estimate of possible loss, if any, can be made at this time. The Company believes the appeal is without merit.

Massachusetts Healthcare: On September 4, 2024, Saint Elizabeth LLC, which is indirectly owned by a subsidiary of the Company and certain affiliates of Apollo, filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as Governor Maura Healey and the Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services. The action was filed in the Land Court in Boston, Massachusetts. The lawsuit sought equitable relief, including declaring that the taking of the real property associated with St. Elizabeth's Medical Center was void and of no effect. Saint Elizabeth LLC and the Commonwealth executed a settlement agreement dated as of July 22, 2025. In addition to $21.9 million ($9.0 million attributable to ARI), that the Commonwealth already paid in November 2024, the Commonwealth paid St. Elizabeth LLC an additional $44.0 million ($18.1 million attributable to ARI). On August 19, 2025, the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice. The parties' settlement agreement includes releases of any and all claims or potential disputes relating to the Commonwealth's taking of the property, as more fully set forth in the settlement agreement.

 

Loan Commitments

As described in "Note 4 – Commercial Mortgage Loans, Subordinate Loans and Other Lending Assets, Net" at December 31, 2025, we had $1.0 billion of unfunded commitments related to our commercial mortgage and subordinate loans. The timings and amounts of fundings are uncertain as these commitments relate to loans for construction costs, capital expenditures, leasing costs, interest and carry costs, among others. As such, the timings and amounts of future fundings depend on the progress and performance of the underlying assets of our loans. Certain of our lenders are contractually obligated to fund their ratable portion of these loan commitments over time, while other lenders have some degree of discretion over future loan funding obligations. The total unfunded commitment is expected to be funded over the remaining 4.1 years weighted-average tenor of these loans.

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.