Douglas Elliman sues developer Dean Marchi over commission

Brokerage claims it was stiffed on its cut on $16M Greenpoint deal

From left: 848 Lorimer Street in Greenpoint (inset: Dottie Herman, Jordan Pryce Levitt and Dean Marchi)
From left: 848 Lorimer Street in Greenpoint (inset: Dottie Herman, Jordan Pryce Levitt and Dean Marchi)

Douglas Elliman is suing Grand Street Development principal Dean Marchi, alleging he squeezed the brokerage out of a commission on a Greenpoint deal.

The residential brokerage claims agent Jordan Pryce Levitt entered into an agreement in May 2014 to sell the warehouse at 848 Lorimer Street to Marchi for $16 million.

However, during negotiations, Marchi allegedly “balked at the agreed brokerage commission” and demanded that Levitt “reduce the commission to an amount unacceptable to [Elliman],” according to the complaint.

In November, Marchi terminated the purchase agreement, which contained a 12-month exclusivity provision, and Elliman continued to show Marchi other properties.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

Levitt later learned that Marchi purchased the property in April through a joint venture, but excluded Elliman from the final negotiations.

The brokerage is now seeking $640,000, 4 percent of the $16 million sale — the commission that was allegedly first agreed upon.

Marchi’s plans for the development site are not yet known, but the developer filed a permit application last month to demolish the existing one-story warehouse. The site, located between Nassau and Driggs Avenue across from McCarren Park, offers 40,000 buildable square feet, according to property records.

Marchi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.