Lenz ordered to pay $90,000 in settlement

535 West End Avenue

Power broker Dolly Lenz of Prudential Douglas Elliman has been found liable for withholding commission from a former colleague in a $13.7 million sale of a seven-bedroom penthouse at Extell’s 535 West End Avenue. In a judgment issued Jan. 3, the State Supreme Court ordered Lenz to pay close to $90,000 to settle the dispute, Real Estate Weekly reported. “I always try to stand up for what I believe in, and, just because Dolly Lenz is a power broker, it doesn’t give her the right not to honor her agreement,” said Jona Rechnitz, the former director of Africa-Israel acquisitions who brought the suit and who now runs JSR Capital, a real estate development company. Although the development was being marketed by Corcoran Sunshine, Rechnitz said he secured the exclusive listing in the building for Lenz, with the understanding that he’d receive a referral on the commission. Weeks after the sale, Lenz told The Real Deal that it was “a very fast deal,” after the seller knocked 40 percent off the original asking price. “Everyone left the closing table very happy,” she said. However, Rechnitz’s repeated efforts to claim his share of the profits were ignored. According to Y. David Scharf of Morrison Cohen, Rechnitz’s lawyer, a default judgment has been issued against Lenz in the sum of $89,680 and he is in the process of enforcing the judgment. Lenz was not immediately available for comment. [Real Estate Weekly]