Commercial PropertySeinfeld Tries To Stiff Real Estate Agent (Not That There"s Anything Wrong With That)
What is it with these Seinfeld stars? First cast-mate Michael Richards embarrasses himself by hurling racist remarks at a heckler, thereby miserably failing Standup Comedy 101.
Now Jerry Seinfeld has just slapped every real estate agent in the country in the face by refusing to pay a commission to his agent because she wouldn"t show him a house on the Jewish Sabbath.
And he"s Jewish, according to Facts On File!
According to an Associated Press report, Seinfeld and his wife Jessica purchased an Upper West Side townhome for $3.95 million in February 2005, but cut his agent, Tamara Cohen, out of the deal because he felt she didn"t deserve the commission.
When Cohen took the matter the court to collect her commission, she told the judge that she had shown properties to Seinfeld and his wife, but that she told the couple she did not work on the Jewish Sabbath. They looked at the house they purchased and bought it without her on a Saturday.
The news report said that the Seinfelds told the court that they did not know that the reason Cohen didn"t return their phone calls to see the house was because she observes the Jewish Sabbath, which includes not working between Friday evening and sundown on Saturdays.
What is not mentioned in the story is whether or not Cohen had a buyer"s representation agreement with the Seinfelds, which would hold up in court. It also was not mentioned whether she had ever previously shown them the property they purchased, which would allow her to collect a commission under the "threshold rule," in most real estate jurisdictions.
A third way she could have collected a commission is through the cooperative services of a multiple listing service. But Manhattan is one of the few areas of the country that doesn"t have such a cooperative system among agents. In most areas, the Multiple Listing Service serves as a means for listing brokers to share commissions with selling agents.
If the Seinfelds had purchased their home in Dallas, for example, and Cohen had not shown them the property, Cohen would not have been able to collect anything, unless she had a contract with the Seinfelds.
Luckily for Cohen, oral agreements can hold up in court, and she was able to supply plenty of evidence including eyewitnesses that she was acting as the Seinfelds" real estate broker.
According to another report, Cohen began showing homes to the Seinfelds" "estate manager," Steven Galistinos, in September 2004, according to the decision. In January 2005, she showed the 82nd Street townhouse that the Seinfelds ended up purchasing to Galistinos. That"s when she and the listing broker, Maximillian Sanchez, agreed to evenly split a 5 or 6 percent fee, with half to be paid by the seller and half by the buyer. Sanchez was paid 3 percent at closing by the sellers, but the Seinfelds refused to pay Ms. Cohen her percentage. Ms. Cohen feels entitled to 3 percent, too, because she had also showed the home to Mrs. Seinfeld, accompanied by Galistinos on Friday, February 11, 2005.
Apparently, on either Saturday Feb. 12 or Sunday Feb. 13, the Seinfelds failed to reach Cohen and went back to the house, toured the premises with the owner, and agreed to buy the home, with neither broker present for the negotiation.
Cohen checked her messages and learned from Sanchez that the Seinfelds had agreed to buy the home.
"[T]he sales contract confirms much of Cohen"s claim," wrote State Supreme Court Justice Rolando Accosta in his findings. "Indeed, she located several townhouses at Galistinos" request, showed the premises in question to Galistinos and Jessica Seinfeld, and made arrangements to have the Seinfelds see the premises the following week.
For that reason, Judge Accosta ruled for Cohen, based on her actions serving as the Seinfelds" buyer"s agent. He said "the evidence clearly indicates she served as the Seinfelds" real estate broker."
The judge has ordered a trial to determine how much commission Cohen should receive. If the trial determines that the fee is 5 percent, Cohen should collect $98,750. If the fee is set at 6 percent, her half of the six percent fee is $118,500.