German real estate brokerage Engel & Völkers is facing a new round of litigation in Manhattan Supreme Court, as former broker EV Scarsdale filed an amended complaint last Friday and was joined by two new lawsuits by E&V franchises in upstate New York and of Rhode Island.

EV Scarsdale filed a suit last month against E&V alleging the real estate franchise provided him with misleading financial data and failed to support his operations, resulting in $1.5 million in damages.

Now, Riverside Homes Realty, based in Hastings-on-Hudson and James Ian Properties, based in Cranston, R.I., are making similar accusations against E&V. [more]

Jonathan Lerner, EV Scarsdale president, Rauert Peters, COO of Engel & Völkers U.S, and 300 Heathcoate Road in Scarsdale

EV Scarsdale President Jonathan Lerner has filed a suit against Manhattan-based Engel & Völkers Northeast, alleging his Hamptons and Westchester County franchises lost more than $1.5 million due to E&V providing misleading information and failing to support him.

The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court April 29, claims that Engel & Völkers committed a breach of contract and violated New York state’s general business law, which requires filing disclosure statements that detail historical and potential earnings involving a franchise operation.

The suit was filed after Lerner sold his former Hamptons business to rival brokerage Nest Seekers.

According to the suit, Engel & Völkers International, based in Hamburg, Germany entered a deal in January 2006 to sell the rights to franchise brokerages in the U.S, through Engel & Völkers U.S., based in Manhattan. [more]

In a move to expand its presence in the turbulent East End real estate market, Nest Seekers International has acquired the former Southampton-based real estate flagship of German brokerage Engel & Volkers, The Real Deal has learned.

Engel & Volkers, based in Hamburg, Germany, originally launched the Southampton franchise location in 2006 as its North American flagship and later expanded into Scarsdale as well as a number of other franchise offices in Florida, Boston and other parts of the country.

Jonathan Lerner, president of EV Scarsdale, which operated the Engel & Volkers franchise in New York, confirmed that company sold the physical assets to Nest Seekers and is in talks on a potential new franchise to operate under a different brokerage flag.

“We will be rebranding,” he said. [more]

From the April issue: The Hamburg, Germany-based brokerage Engel
& Volkers is expanding its U.S. operations by opening a location in
Scarsdale and is eyeing Manhattan for another office. The 30-year-old
firm’s flagship location in the U.S. opened on Main Street in
Southampton in 2006, and the brokerage is now in the process of opening
another office at 300 Heathcote Road in Scarsdale. Internationally, the
firm has residential and commercial divisions, but so far in the U.S.,
the offices are just handling residential sales. Jonathan Lerner,
managing director of the Southampton and Scarsdale offices, said by
2011, the brokerage hopes to have five offices in Westchester and two
more in the Hamptons. And Rauert Peters, president and CEO of Engel
& Volkers North East, said the company is looking to open its first
office in Manhattan. Since 2006, the firm has also opened offices in
California, Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode
Island. [more]