Andrea Ackerman, Hamptons broker

When Hampton Style interviewed Bridgehampton power broker Andrea Ackerman in May 2007, her outlook on Hamptons real estate was glib. “Things may level-off, but nothing ever loses value here,” the long-time broker told the magazine. “No matter when you buy, in retrospect it always looks like you made a great deal.” As she and many homebuyers have since discovered, that wasn’t necessarily the case. Two years later, Hamptons home prices have tumbled 38.6 percent from their peak and Ackerman is in the midst of a legal struggle with former employer Prudential Douglas Elliman over nearly $150,000 in back pay. Elliman filed suit Oct. 22 in New York State Supreme Court against Ackerman, who is now at Brown Harris Stevens, claiming that she owes the company some $148,000. As the financial crisis has dried up real estate profits across the region, a slew of lawsuits have popped up as agents and brokerages fight over commissions. [more]