Rich Celebrities Trying To Stiff Their Broker: "What's the Deal With That?"

It’s not as awful as being recorded on video using racial epithets. But this must still be pretty embarrassing for comedian Jerry Seinfeld:

Supreme Court Justice Rolando T. Acosta has ruled that Seinfeld must pay a real-estate broker a commission of at least $98,750 for the $3.95 million townhouse he and his wife purchased in 2005.

Seinfeld had testified that the broker, Tamara Cohen, did not deserve the payment, as she had not been available when he and his wife, Jessica, wanted to see the West 82nd Street home. The Seinfelds also testified that they did not know that the reason Cohen did not return their calls was that she was an observant Jew and observed the Sabbath.

Acosta held that, notwithstanding Cohen’s failure to immediately return the Seinfelds’ calls, “[T]he evidence clearly indicates that she served as the Seinfelds’ real estate broker.”

It’s too bad “Seinfeld” isn’t still on the air. We could easily see this scenario — a real estate broker failing to return calls promptly because she’s a Sabbath observer — turning into a plot line.
(Actually, we wouldn’t be surprised to see it turn up in the next season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” This is something we could totally see Larry David getting irate over. ‘Cause he gets irate over everything.)
Comedian Seinfeld Ordered to Pay Real Estate Broker Fee [New York Law Journal via Law.com]

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