Josh Flagg Sues Former Douglas Elliman West CEO for Hacking

Attorneys for “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” star Josh Flagg said new information in an alleged hacking suit turned up sufficient evidence to name Douglas Elliman’s former Western region CEO as a defendant.

When Flagg filed the lawsuit last July, the identity of who was behind an email account that allegedly accessed the agent’s private information was unknown. Flagg’s now pointing the finger at former Elliman Western Region CEO Stephen Kotler for using a Proton email account to, as one of his attorneys described, “access and disseminate private and confidential electronic information.” The attorney said that information was then shared with “one or more third parties” and occurred after Flagg left Elliman for Compass last year.

“Flagg will not tolerate this outrageous invasion of his privacy rights and intends to hold Kotler and all those acting in concert with him accountable for any harm resulting from their wrongful and tortious conduct,” Flagg’s attorney said.

The full story on the lawsuit can be found here.

Resi agents on how entertainment business paradigm shift impacted deal flow

Business hasn’t quite bounced back for residential agents over a year after the entertainment industry’s strikes, coupled with a long-running paradigm shift in the way Hollywood does business.

While deals involving A-list actors and directors may have never gone completely away, entertainment industry workers involved in the day-to-day of a film or TV production either pulled back from spending on new homes or are only just beginning to show signs of getting off the sidelines. That buying and selling behavior has changed the makeup of neighborhoods and also how deals — the ones that are going through, anyway — are being financed.

Agents with clients in the entertainment industry spoke with The Real Deal about the shifting dynamics within film and television that have impacted dealmaking.

Santa Monica mall has Olympics 2028 on the brain, OC developer ramps up projects

Big sporting events, such as the World Cup and Olympics, will soon be making their way to Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California. Some retailers are thinking ahead.

That was a big takeaway when Prism Places announced this week it’s now the property manager for Santa Monica Place. After Macerich defaulted on a $300 million loan tied to the mall, the property went into special servicing and was taken over by court-appointed receiver Trigild.

Prism wants to breathe new life into the property with new tenants and restaurants that could very well draw from the crowds set to descend on Southern California for the 2028 Olympics.

“When the Olympics are in Los Angeles in 2028, Santa Monica and Santa Monica Place will be on display as one of the most dynamic destinations in the world,” said Prism’s CEO and founder, Stenn Parton.

Elsewhere in Southern California’s retail industry, developer Dan Almquist is on a roll in Orange County.

After the pandemic and typical permitting delays served as speedbumps for projects in Stanton and San Juan Capistrano, Almquist’s development pipeline has found its groove. The company has retail and mixed-use projects in the works in Whittier, Irvine, Fullerton and even more set for San Juan Capistrano. Details are in the latest issue of TRD’s magazine.

UCLA report delivers critical look at Measure ULA’s impact on commercial deal flow

This may come as little surprise to commercial and residential brokerages, but a new study found investment sales slowed following Measure ULA.

What may be new for some is “The Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA” report found the biggest hit — a decline of 30 percent to 50 percent — from the tiered tax was on deals outside of single-family residential.

University of California, Los Angeles researchers Michael Manville and Mott Smith reported in their study a $25 million annual loss in property tax revenue for the city of Los Angeles as a result of what’s been dubbed the “mansion tax.” The two said that figure will only compound if ULA continues unchanged.

Eastdil sues OC brokers now at Newmark alleging trade secret theft, breach of contract

A group of six Southern California multifamily brokers that jumped from Eastdil Secured to Newmark last month have come under fire from their former firm.

Eastdil is crying foul on the team, alleging in an Orange County Superior Court lawsuit the group stole trade secrets, including a deal that was in the works, and breached their contracts.

The suit underscores just how competitive the business of brokerages can be when it comes to star earners.

The residential industry isn’t immune from feuding.

In the Bay Area, Red Oak Realty sued Vanguard Properties in December, accusing it of a “poaching campaign” following failed merger talks between the two brokerages.