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Taylor Swift defeats Douglas Elliman in broker commission case
Judge James Furman said the brokerage never had “any formal agreement” with the pop star
She really shook it off this time.
Judge Jesse Furman thew out a lawsuit brought against pop star Taylor Swift by a Douglas Elliman broker who claimed Swift owed a $1.08 million commission for the purchase of a Tribeca townhouse.
Andrew Azoulay
Andrew Azoulay, the Elliman broker, showed the three-story property at 153 Franklin Street to a representative of Swift’s Firefly Entertainment in February 2017, according to the New York Post.
The four-bedroom townhouse, converted by architect Leopoldo Rosati, was previously rented by French politician Dominique Strauss Kahn while he was under investigation over charges he raped a maid in a Midtown hotel (he was later acquitted of the charges).
Swift bought the property for $18 million in October, 2017, but the Elliman broker did not receive a commission. The brokerage sued, claiming they had been “wrongfully excluded” from the deal and the $1.08 million commission.
In his ruling, Judge Furman said an “informal email” between Elliman and Swift’s company didn’t constitute a “formal agreement.”
“The e-mail lacks most, if not all, of the material terms of a real estate brokerage agreement, including the scope and duration of the relationship and the fee,” he wrote.
Swift also owns two apartments at a neighboring building, 155 Franklin Street. [NYP] – Decca Muldowney