The Real Deal New York

From the April issue: The Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group has filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court alleging that the developer of Tribeca’s Five Franklin Place condo owes the brokerage more than $500,000. In the summons addressed to the developer, Corcoran said it terminated its exclusive sales agreement with Franklin Place last October, after the developer of the unfinished condo failed to pay more than $100,000 in marketing expenses. Corcoran argued that based on its initial agreement with the developer, it was entitled to a $500,000 termination fee if it ended its sales agreement with Franklin Place. The lawsuit between Corcoran and Franklin Place LLC, which was filed in late January but is being reported for the first time by The Real Deal, is one of several recent suits between brokerages and developers. Real estate lawyers and brokers say they expect brokerage-developer litigation to mushroom as the market continues to trend downward and developers find themselves with less money for marketing expenses while condo plans are scaled back.