Owner of Fort Lauderdale building allegedly refuses to pay broker’s six-figure commission

2855-2915 Stirling Road properties
2855-2915 Stirling Road properties

Hallandale Beach-based Capital Commercial Real Estate Group is accusing a former client of welching on a $480,000 commission fee when the proposed sale of a Fort Lauderdale Walgreens and adjacent shopping center fell apart.

In a lawsuit filed recently in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Capital Commercial alleges that Inland Towers of North Miami Beach LLC is obligated to pay the commission even though the deal wasn’t finalized. The properties are located at 2855 – 2915 Stirling Road in Fort Lauderdale near the Oakland Plaza shopping center by I-95.

“It was the owner’s choice not to sell, but he still had an obligation to pay the broker,” said Bruce Friedlander, the attorney for Capital Commercial. He declined further comment. Lawyers representing Inland Towers did not respond to requests for comment.

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On July 28, 2016, Capital Commercial alleges that Inland Towers agreed to pay a 2 percent commission fee if the brokerage firm found a buyer willing to pay a net sale price of $24 million or a gross sale price of $24.7 million. Capital Commercial was able to secure a buyer that was “ready, willing and able to purchase the property upon the terms of the listing agreement, and who agreed in writing,” according to the lawsuit.

However, Inland Towers ultimately rejected the offer and demanded a purchase price in excess of the listing agreement, the suit states. Even though the transaction didn’t go through, Capital Commercial claims it “duly earned” the commission fee.

According to Broward County property records, Inland Towers purchased the Stirling Road properties for $17.9 million in 2006. State corporate records list Joseph Cohen and Roy Mussaffi of Miami Beach as Inland Towers’ managers.